Fallin' Hard For A Pop Star
by Kazuhiro
Summary: San Okina is your regular highschool tomboy, who, agianst her will, is forced to live with Japan's Teen Idol Ashitaka Eboshi! Will she slowly go insane, or will she slowly fall for him?
1. Chapter 1

I Do Not Own Princess Mononoke

Chapter One: Transfer Student

"San…San, wake-up!" Moro persisted at her young daughter. The girl rolled around for a bit, then groggily sat up with her short hair frizzed and tangled. Her heavy eyelids barely revealed her beautiful dark eyes. She sat upright, with her mother standing next to her bed, with her arms crossed.

Her mother was a tall Asian woman, who, in all respects, was beautiful and intelligent. Moro's stature was not at all lanky, either. She was all curves, feminine, and was not in the least way afraid to show her confidence as a woman. Yet, at the same time, was gracious, polite, and negotiable with all matters of life, most of the time. Truly a work of art.

Her daughter, unlike her mother, was on the shorter side, but getting taller. San was a tough little high-school girl who hated all that is girly and holy. She cut her long brown locks when she started middle school, and kept it at a fairly short length ever since. Her breasts were 'less than impressive' one would think, but San didn't care to think. She didn't want to impress anyone with her (unfortunate) displays of her gender. Then again, like her mother, she wasn't flat like a brick wall, or straight like a pencil. She was…developing slowly. She was, in some ways to think…one of those accidental masterpieces?

Of course, one would think, 'they're so different! How could they be related?' The answer is simpler than you may believe. One word sums every question relating to this topic of their lives: Adoption.

"Time…" San rubbed her eyes angrily, as she was always Miss. Grumpy in the morning. The statement was meant as a question roughly translating into, "what time is it?" But, early as it was, three more words and to change the voice tone so it would be a question, would be way too much effort.

Moro tapped her pointed high heels against the carpet and pulled the sleeve of her suite back to reveal her elegant watch. Reading it instantly, she replied, "6:30 AM."

She groaned and then rolled her eyes to the back of her head. She bent her head backwards; then as it fell forward, she caught it with her hand to rub some sleep out of her eyes, and then brushed her fingers through her short hair. It was getting long, too long in her personal opinion. She could probably hold the back hair in a low, stubby pony-tail by now. One would never know, for, that too, was a test to be put aside due to energy levels. She then scratched the side of her head, and then waved her mother off. This was a ritual signal that she was up, and she'd be ready soon.

Following ritual rules, Moro shifted her weight, and then pivoted around to walk out of her room door to go towards the downstairs kitchen. Before she left completely, she had to remind San. "Don't forget to wake your bothers up!" San dragged herself from the bed, and then slumped towards the bathroom to clean herself up. Make-up was non-existent in her bathroom, but it was everywhere in Moro's. This is how guests distinguished their bathrooms. All that was there was a toothbrush, toothpaste, a mirror with a small light, an out-of-date blow-dryer, an old soap bar, and a small brush. On some days, there would be a hair band, but San lost that hair band long ago. Her mother, on the other hand, had pile-mountains of accessories, a full-length mirror with blinding lights, make-up, brushes of all shapes and sizes, curlers, a straighter, 3 different toothpaste brands, a couple of toothbrushes, floss, contact holders, face wash…the list went on and on.

Splashing cold water on her face was refreshing, and yet, unwelcoming at the same time. She took her facial towel, and wiped the water off her face. As the towel worked its way down, she stared at herself in the mirror. Average. Ordinary. Plain. Three words she used to describe her looks. When she was younger, her mother used to tell her she was beautiful in everyway. She stopped telling her that after puberty hit. San didn't have any pimple problems, or anything, she just became another teenager of society. That's all.

With a few strokes through her hair with a brush, and after brushing her teeth, she changed into her uniform. It was a dark blue skirt with a sailor-cut top with a red sash folded neatly into a ribbon. She then proceeded to her two younger siblings. Since they were twins, they shared rooms until they were 13. At 15, they went into separate rooms, but the rooms were right next to each other. This made San's job easy. She could yell one phrase and get them both up at the same time. The phrase, "kill two birds with one stone" really did apply to this morning ritual.

"Get up you lazy-ass!" She really meant 'asses' but it always sounded singular, that way both of them would think she's only yelling at one of them. The two shot up from their beds, and then rolled off their beds, taking the sheets with them. "If you don't, then you'll really feel my wrath." She warned in a deadly tone. As the oldest, she had an older authority. They would always do as she say, which was usually within reason. Two years difference wasn't that much, but it was enough.

San trotted down the stairs, snatching her book back from the hanger on her way down. She could hear her two siblings groaning and trying to dress. As she smelled the mouth-watering food, her stomach grumbled in wanting. Breakfast consisted of rice, eggs, sausages, and some bacon. The perfect breakfast for San.

"No, no, Gonza, not that one." Her mother argued with her cell phone as she served San the food. "No…Yes, that's better…Then I refuse…Look, if you can't get her to say otherwise, then you'll just have to wait until I arrive." Moro continued. By the time Moro adopted San, she took over her husband's business as President because he was taking a break from work. Two years later, she gave birth to twins, and then, her husband filed for divorce. He said that she could have custody and the business, he just wanted out. His business was going downhill that first few years, but once Moro took command, the profit sky-rocketed and the stocks went off the charts. The success was almost unbelievable. He's probably hitting and cussing at himself by now.

Gonza was the closest assistant to a rivaling company's president, Eboshi Corp. The fighting had been dragging on for so long and it got so intense, the two top dogs and their closest connections call each other by their fist names. Moro's company kept the original name, Okina Corp., despite some flaring controversies that she should change it. Now, Moro owns ¼ of Japan's commerce movements, and a part of world-wide trade marketing and selling productivity in Japan. Because of the immense success, the flares calmed down, and eventually, almost everyone accepted the name as is.

Eboshi was the name of the president – Saki Eboshi, the founder of the massive corporation, rivaling Moro's. She owned a large iron resource production, and a little of trade and commerce in Japan. Like Moro, Saki was a strong business woman and strong mother at the same time. Unlike Moro, Saki left her husband and raged war for custody over her children. The only logical reason for full custody was that Saki Eboshi's oldest son just happened to be Ashitaka Eboshi – Japan's teen idol. Her husband has joint custody over their second child. Although the second child is a rising star and teen model, it wasn't enough to top a teen idol.

Moro might have the money advantage, but Eboshi has the popularity edge. Both of her children are T.V. stars, and she's also known as 'that woman who wanted her child for money'. Greedy as it may appear, Eboshi wasn't all bitch and no action. She was a smart and cunning woman with wits and looks. Despite her divorce, she's had more than a few suitors, may it be for love (doubt it) or money.

"Fine then, Good-bye." Moro hung up the phone, and set it back into her pocket. "I can't believe that damn woman!" She fumed softly. No matter how nasty her remarks were, she constantly had her polite speech in tact. "Why can't she just give up? It's been over 5 years, and she refuses a take-over!"

"Mom, you sound like the bad guy here." San sipped some of her milk down. But a large majority agreed that Eboshi was quite the sadistic one. She only cared for her workers only if they would stable, and perhaps boost her status. But, who could really blame her? She built her company from the ground up, and fought long, hard battles to make it successful.

Her mother sighed, and straightened her dark dress-suite. "Alright, I'll be leaving now. Make sure your brothers get to school on time today." She took her purse and briefcase then proceeded to the garage. "I'll need to beat traffic today, so my phone will be on if your brothers are late to school again. Tell them to call me on my cell if anything like that happens, okay?"

"Yeah…" San mumbled as her mother shut the door and started driving off. She glanced at the clock, and then the two monsters came running down the stairs, racing again, and charging towards the smell of food. "3…2…1…" San read the second hand. Something crashed into the wall leading the stair's path towards the kitchen and living room.

"Ouch! Hey, you ass-hole, that's cheating!" A teen boy yelled in agony.

"You said we could push, so it's legal, dumb-ass!" Another boy countered.

"You fuckin' cheated! I know how you work!"

"Don't be such an ass-wipe! I W-O-N fair and square!"

"It's cheating you piece of shit!" The two brothers entered into the kitchen, one with a red bump on his forehead, the other with a scowl.

'Can't believe they had to share a room until 2 years ago…pathetic.' San thought to herself as the two argued to who had first dibs on the rice paddle. Not only did they have to share a room, but they were both a part of a high-school punk 'gang' if you will. They were complete trouble-makers, but good-looking at the same time. San had to admit they both got their looks from Moro. Definitely Moro, no doubt…and their height. They were taller than San! But only by an inch or two. 'Unnatural height…' She thought in annoyance. The two of them had silver hair, like their mothers, but it wasn't like 'grey, old-age' silver. It was more like 'moon light' silver. It was another beautiful feature they all shared. As for San, she had what she described as 'Mud-pie brown' hair. And their eyes. Such handsome and attractive eyes they all shared. A dirty yellow shade, that always held a glint of mischief. Unlike their mother, these two had a taste for violence, and swearing. This is the reason why they were recruited for the school's gang.

The 'older' twin was named Taka, while the second was named Kai. Taka was only older by mere seconds, of course. The two would be identical if not for the slight facial difference. Taka had a more matured face, but just by a tick. But, their personalities were almost polar opposites, but at the same time one of the same. Kai had kept is hair on the shorter side, and had only two or three inches. Taka, on the other hand, liked the European-look nowadays, and layered his hair, so it was on the longer side.

"Hey San! Turn the news on!" Kai stuffed his face with rice and eggs; occasionally taking breaks to breathe in-between. San, who was nearest to the remote, clicked the T.V. on, and because of Moro, it was always set to the news.

"...The recent events of the Eboshi family has now confirmed that the oldest son, and first in line heir for Eboshi Corp., Ashitaka Eboshi, is attending a local school near his mother's business, in central Tokyo…" The reporter spoke as a picture of a handsome boy flashed on the screen.

"What's that? Turn it up!" Taka leaned forward. San turned the volume up, and the picture disappeared. The reporter was standing in front of a school, where a flock of students came to view. There was a limousine slowly creeping forward towards the school gates of a school.

"Wait a minute…" San thought out loud.

"That's my school!" Taka, Kai and San blurted out.

A/N: Wow. That's a long chapter for me! lol. Hope you liked it. .


	2. Popularity's Tough

I do not own Princess Mononoke

Chapter 2 – Popularity's Tough

San put the dishes away as she ordered her two brothers to get their things together without breaking anything. She turned the T.V. off just as the reporter was trying to get through the mob of teens to the window of the limousine. She then approached the front door, and tapped her shoes on as she called for the two boys.

"Hey San, you think we might be able to get some popularity points with Ashitaka Eboshi?" Kai hopefully joked as they waited for the signal to change. San didn't want to think about it, at least not right now. The last thing she wanted was to have her two brother's clinging to a pop idol.

"No, you idiot, we simply take it! Think of the ---…" Taka was cut off by a swift blow from seemingly nowhere to the back of his head. He grimaced, and then scowled at his older sister.

"Shut it, both of you." She snapped in annoyance. It was getting really old, really fast. They traveled on in silence, with the occasional flirtatious glares some passing females gave her brothers, but she'd grown accustomed to it. They approached their school, and it seemed as thought the limousine made very little, if any progress since the last viewing from her T.V.

Faintly, as they proceeded closer, San could make out a shadowy figure sitting in the backseat of the stretched car. The driver was a bald, middle-aged man with an incredibly large mole on his face. Or was it a pimple? San couldn't tell from such a distance. What she could tell was that whoever was in the backseat, everybody wanted to know. By 'whoever', she meant Ashitaka Eboshi, of course.

"Cool! I wanna see him!" Kai ran ahead.

"Hey, me too!" Taka ran after him, leaving San in his dust. Despite their gleaming hair, the two melted into the mob around the vehicle harboring the famous star. She had to admit, it would be kind of interesting to see him up close and personal.

Concluding that the front entrance to the school was illogical, and impossible to try and fight her way through, she took the longer route towards the side entrance. As a habit developed from observing her mother, she closed her eyes, breathed in, and was going to breathe out, but before she could do that, something collided into her as she turned the corner of the building. More like, someone.

Whoever crashed into her was taller, and more built than she. Typical, seeing that it was a boy. While on the ground, she could only see his feet and the bottom of his uniform, which were the blue pants.

"I'm sorry about that." He had unusually polite speech for a teenager. "Here. Let me help you." He offered a hand in an almost monotone voice.

"It's okay, I'll handle it." She pulled her skirt down a little, and then proceeded to gather her things. As she stood up, she almost froze from surprise.

"You…" Was all she could really manage. Ashitaka Eboshi was standing before her, in all his glory as a high school student.

"You?" He repeated inquisitively. This boy was supposed to be the most suave and sexy model for teens today, but here he was in front of the school tomboy, repeating a single word, and forming it into a question. He even had the '?' expression on his 'sexy' face.

"Ah…" She tried to say his name, but his cell phone rang. He dug through his pockets, until finally pulling out a sleek cell, and putting it to his ear.

"Yes?" He answered into the receiver. "Yeah, I got there. I'm okay. Uh-huh. Yup. No problem. Really? I'll be on the look out then." He shut the phone closed, and put it away in a different pocket from which it originally came.

"Sorry, miss, but I have to find someone right now." He brushed passed her as the phone settled into the new location. He opened the door, and walked in, not even bothering to leave it open for her. Stunned just a little, she regained her stamina, and right before the door closed, she shouted, "My name isn't 'Miss' fyi!" But he didn't hear her, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't go back to ask her what it was. What just happened to polite speech and polite manners? Once you find out someone's a no one, out the door you go.

"Jerk!" She scoffed as she went back to the front to retrieve her two brothers. Wait. Think about it. If that was Ashitaka, then who was in the car just a second ago?

"It's Kaya Eboshi!" A girl screamed for the world to know. The truth is revealed alas. Kaya is the younger Eboshi, aspiring actress and teen model. The second child to be on Saki Eboshi's list of things to do. 'Joint Custody' suddenly flashed through San's head.

'I bet their whole family is a bunch of stuck-ups.' San continued to push through the crowd. She finally spotted her first brother, Kai looking bored, if not disappointed. She caught him mumbling something about it just being some girl.

"Where's Taka?" San looked around for the older brother. Kai shot her a look of disgust, and then directed his golden eyes towards the other sibling. San was shocked, and amused to see the cold-hearted, violence-loving boy she knew ogling over the younger Eboshi. He hid it well, definitely better than any other boy, but growing up with the boy, you just know some things others can't.

"Drooling over the Eboshi girl." Kai picked at his ear, and then turned around. "I'm going. Later." He walked towards the school doors, and once again, disappeared into the crowd. As Kaya walked on, politely responding to the fan's questions and introductions, Taka stayed back, stranded on the steps of the school. He looked down, as if defeated by loyal fans, and proceeded forward. San approached her younger brother, and gave him an encouraging smile.

"Don't sweat it. She'll notice you" San wanted to say, but that would sound unnatural for her. Instead, she rested her hand on his head, and then walked on. As she slowly trailed behind the mob, the door of doom came slamming in obstruction of her path.

"Dammit! Why is this happening today!" San cussed softly cussed to herself, and her unusually bad luck. The same familiar and slightly annoying voice came in earshot once again.

"Oh, it's you again." He said as he closed the door to the restroom. "Do you want help this time?" This time, there was a little arrogance in his voice, which did not suite San well.

"I'm fine." She pushed herself off from the ground as she did previously.

"Why do I keep running into you?" He questioned as he studied the door. 'running into you'! More like colliding. Or inflicting pain while passing by.

"I have no idea. Mind explaining why you have a way with doors?" She referred to when he brushed past her and let the door close. While brushing herself off a little, she looked up at him, but he was still studying the door she hit.

"I don't know. Perhaps it's an omen?" He offered an explanation. Please, an omen? She didn't have time to believe in old wives' tales like omens. It was just superstition.

"For what?" She asked with boredom. He paused, and his perplexed face looked as if he were contemplating something important. He then stared at her with serious eyes, and prepared for a response. His eyes were dark, and nicely shaped. He had a grasping pull with just his gaze alone. San steadied herself, and prepared for an explanation.

"For that…" He started. "I don't know, either." He finished. San turned her head in annoyance. He was a jerk, and absent-minded. End of story.

"Since I don't have a reason for continuing this conversation, I'll take my leave now. Later." San brushed past him, like he did to her. As she got to the stairs, he called, "Hey you!" but she walked on, pretending she didn't hear him. 'That'll teach ya.' She mentally fired back at him, chuckling evilly to herself.

Omens are meant to be taken seriously. San learned that the hard way. Only 5 minutes into first period started her misery and gloom towards a very cruel year. Ashitaka Eboshi was in her class, no, ALL her classes. Why was this world so very cruel? San tried to bury herself in her arms, but there was no escaping the wrath of Eboshi.

"Since Ashitaka-San has just transferred to our school…" The teacher started. Everyone knew what she was about to say, and all the girls were practically on the edge of their seats waiting for the words to come out. "He'll need a guide to show him around the school until he feels comfortable enough." She finished, but all the girls except for San's were raised so high, their navels were exposed.

"Actually…" Ashitaka politely started. "I would like someone who I know." She smiled at the teacher, and the willing volunteers. San was relieved that he already knew someone. That person could show him around instead.

"Oh? Who is this person? Do tell." The teacher encouraged.

"Her. Right there in the back." Ashitaka pointed to the back of the room.

"San Okina!" The teacher called attention.

"Yes!" San perked up.

"You will be assigned as Eboshi-san's guide to our school, seeing that you already made acquaintances with him." The teacher smiled at her. All the volunteers dropped their arms down in defeat and anger.

"Y-yes." San managed. '! That conniving jerk! He doesn't even know my name!'

"I'll be looking forward to it." He took a seat next to her. San groaned, and faked a smile.

"The pleasure's all mine." She weakly responded. 'Not.' Between the glares, stares, and whispers behind her back, San was practically willing to strangle every god-dammed Eboshi fan in the school. Which was everyone. Alas! Salvation during lunch came. San ditched Ashitaka amongst a mob of fans and headed towards her meeting spot with her brothers.

"So, you're the talk of the whole school now. Nice." Kai mocked as he stuffed his face with his lunch. She didn't have much of an appetite, and neither did Taka.

"It's not something I'm proud of. He's so…aggravating. It gives me a headache every time I think about it." San moaned as she rubbed her temples.

"Perhaps then, you need an Asprin?" A new voice chimed in. San's spine tingled as she cringed to look behind her. **Him**.

"W-what?" She questioned. Did he hear her? What she said about him?

"I heard you say you have a headache. If it hurts, you should go to the nurse or take an Asprin." He offered advice. Geez. This guy had no clue what was going on.

"It's alright. I'm okay now." San struggled to force a smile out in manners. Taka looked up at him as if he was going to say something, but Kai took the chance faster.

"Hey Eboshi-kun! Where do you live? It's like, a total secret to everyone." Kai pointed his chopsticks at him.

"Probably because it's supposed to be a secret. Put your chopsticks down, it's rude to point." San slapped his hand down. Ashitaka scratched his head, and then adjusted his school bag strap.

"A secret? Well, since I'll be moving out of my house soon anyways, I guess I could tell you." He contemplated more.

"You're moving out? What for? You're still in high-school." Kai asked San's question for her. He shrugged, and shifted his weight to the other foot.

"My mom says she doesn't want the reporters all over the family's limousine everyday, so I'm moving closer to the school in an apartment. So is my sister, but she 'll be in a different building." He explained. Oh. It was coming together now.

"So, you're living all alone? Just by yourself?" San asked, not that she was worried about him or anything, it was just curiosity. He nodded his head and replied, "nuh-uh."

"I'm going to have a roommate." He started to scramble through his pockets again. After a few seconds of searching, he flipped his phone open, and pressed a couple buttons. "A few minutes ago, my mom sent me a text message telling me who it was." He then turned the phone over to let San and her brothers read the message.

_"Ashitaka- _

_Due to business negotiations, you will be moving into apartment 3d at the Fukadaya. Your roommate's name is San Okina. Please tell her at school."_

"I'm your what!" San exclaimed. Just as surprised, her two brothers yelled, "She's your what!"

"Yeah, that's what I said…" He flipped the phone closed, and put in another different pocket.

A/N: All will be explained in the next chapter!


	3. MOving In

I do not own Princess Mononoke

Chapter 3 – Moving In

"What the hell is up with that?" San demanded of her mother through Ashitaka's phone.

"San, can we talk about this when I get home? I'm in a meeting with Eboshi right now." Moro calmly and pleadingly asked of her infuriated daughter. San was going to crush the phone with the mere stress in her hand, but she realized it wasn't even her phone (She had broken her own after she dropped it on a school trip in middle school, and is currently waiting for a better phone she likes to come out). A few more seconds, and San's anger was toned down a bit as her brother's pried the phone off her ear and said good-bye.

As soon as the phone was back is his possession, the bell rang, and the four looked over to the moving students.

"Bell. Let's go to class." Ashitaka started walking. San, being only half as angry, realized he was spaced out again, and grabbed the back of his collar. Or did he just not know the way?

"Class is this way, airhead." She dragged him in the opposite direction. Taka and Kai said their good-bye's to the two older kids, and surprisingly went to their own classes for next period.

More stares were targeted at San the next period as she tried to pay attention to the lecture on the Periodic Table. She just couldn't concentrate! Why did he have to choose his seat **right next** to hers! And why did he have to act so normally about it! Nothing was normal about it.

"Okina!" The professor called. "Please point to what element has the atomic number of 74 on the periodic table." He waited. San straightened her back, and fixed her eyes on the massive chart. She tried to focus her eyes on the numbers, but there were so many numbers! But then, and hand grabbed her by the wrist and directed it towards the element of Tungsten. Half the class snickered, and the other half scowled at her, seeing whose hand was touching her wrist. She was embarrassed, and a little relieved. "Thank you, Okina. Thank's to Eboshi, you were able to find Tungsten, with the symbol of W, and the atomic number of 74. Now, to figure out an element's number of neutrons…" He continued the lesson. San put her hand down, and Ashitaka retracted his own. The rest of the class turned to attention once again, but San zoned out. She looked over from the corner of her eye to catch a glimpse of him again.

'I didn't know an airhead could be a science smarty.' San marveled at the wonders of the world. Ah, the work of God – truly a mysterious and delicate philosophy towards mankind. Yet, as mystifying as it is, it was quite confusing as well.

Ashitaka mindlessly jotted his notes down, occasionally glancing up to recreate the element symbols, and verifying the numbers. He actually looked studious to San. When he was about a page through, she had only a third, maybe a half page full of notes. She hated science. And worst of all...math. There were just too many numbers. However, she did enjoy P.E. Surprisingly, she did find history interesting too. But language was a bitch. She already knew how to speak and write, so why the hell did she need to be educated by a teacher, whose teaching the same language! It didn't make sense.

After school, there was explaining to be done. Lot's of explaining. Moro closed her eyes, inhaled, and then exhaled slowly as her shoulders sank in relaxation. When she opened her eyes, she was ready.

"San, you're well aware of my business clashing with Eboshi Corp., correct?" Moro answered the question for her, and continued, "Eboshi is a woman of great status and respect, and as much as I…disagree with her, I have decided that while we…debate on the take over of Eboshi Corp. we will have to form some sort of 'union' to show the public that we will be dedicated to our work to the end."

"So you're forcing the children to 'bond' while the adults squabble over a take-over?" San scoffed at the explanation.

"Both Eboshi and I agreed that it would be the best for both our families and for the public picture that we are going to be as adult-like as possible. If the public were to see you and Ashitaka living together, then maybe…" Moro tried to sound as decent as possible, but for San, that would be difficult.

"They'll think were an 'item'! Or even worse…" She thought of the possibilities.

"No, no, not like that at all." Her mother was trying hard to remain as calm as possible.

"I hate him! He's a jerk, and a complete airhead!" San excluded the science class incident.

"I'm sure you don't 'hate' the boy. You may disagree with him…" She held her hands out in a way of 'settle down'.

"Like you 'disagree' with Eboshi?" She fired. Moro set her hands on her lap, and lowered her eyes.

"San, I can feel how strongly you dislike this arrangement, but it must be done. I almost have her, and if you do this one favor for me, you'll save everyone, yourself included, a whole lot of reporters at your neck, getting the scoop on how the take-over went down." Moro used her tactics to persuade her daughter in the most cunning and clever way possible without sounding cheesy. San settled down, and began to imagine all those reporters asking her if her mom used any 'dirty tactics' to over-throw Eboshi. She shivered, and then she dropped her chin to her chest as a sign of defeat.

"I'll only do it if Taka and Kai can come with me!" San negotiated. Like hell she was going to be stuck in that apartment with him alone. Having her brother's there would cancel out all suspicion on a 'relationship' with him. Moro smiled brightly, but tiredly, and nodded in agreement.

"Done." A week passed so quickly while San was packing her things, and studying the Periodic Table at the same time. When Saturday arrived, it was time to move into her new home. The place was huge. It was an apartment suite with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It had a kitchen, a dining room, living room, and office room. Both Bedrooms had walk-in closets and installed compartments for out-of-season clothing. San was amazed to how large the place was, so was Taka and Kai.

Taka whistled as he stopped near the front door, but stopped mid-way as he caught a glimpse of a moving beauty. Kaya Eboshi? San smirked, 'looks like he was thinking the same thing.'

"San…" Taka whispered to her, "You didn't tell me the other Eboshi was going to move in too!" He was sweating at the palms.

"Chill out. I didn't know." San tried covering up her amusement at her brother's crush. Before Taka could argue any longer, Kaya was approaching at increasing speed.

"Hello there. You must be San Okina, it's a pleasure." Kaya politely greeted. "Oh? I didn't know your brother's were coming as well." She noticed Taka and Kai.

"I'm Kai, just so you know." He introduced.

"Taka." He second; he was trying so hard not to blush.

"My name is Kaya, and I'm pleased to meet both of you. Okina-san, my brother wants you to meet him in his room, if you please?" She pointed down the hall. San nodded, and winked at Taka just as she passed Kaya. He was probably fuming at her for leaving him like he did.

"I gotta pee, be right back!" Kai dropped his things and ran off.

"Bathroom is down the hall on your left!" Kaya directed. San had to chuckle to herself. She then figured that since the first room she passed was empty, the room with the door closed was probably his. Opening it was the mistake of her life. There he was – with only a towel around his waist and reaching into a drawer for garments, probably underwear. San just stood there, in a shock, then closed the door again.

'PUT A SHIRT ON!' She mentally yelled as her face was burning red.

"San?" Ashitaka called from the other side. "If it's alright, I need to change, so I'll be out in just a sec." He called. Now he tells her. Nice timeing. After a few minutes, he emerged from the room with a towel around his neck. "I didn't know when you were coming." He told her blankly as he dried his hair off with the towel. Most likely the same one that was wrapped around his waist.

"I should've called first." San nervously thought back, wishing she could go back in time. He simply kept that constant 'okay…' look on his face, and replied, "We don't have a phone set up yet."

"I meant your cell phone…" She clarified as they walked down the hall.

"Ah…do you know my number?" He magically produced his phone again. San shifted then looked over to another space.

"No." She looked at her feet, and tried to keep walking in a straight line, and she did, but since she was used to her own house layout, she crashed into a wall. She stumbled back, and cussed at the wall. Why did this keep happening to her? By the time they reached the front door, Kaya was talking to Taka, who was putting up a façade of toughness and faked his uninterested state-of-mind.

"I'll give you the number later then." He put the phone in his back pocket, and led her to the kitchen. "As you can see, this is the kitchen; I don't think we'll be using it much though." He moved on to the dining room and living room. "We'll eat here for dinner, and this'll be our lounge area." He walked onto the bedrooms. "This room will be shared between you and Kaya, while the other will be shared between your brother's and me." He pointed to the door she now dreaded. "And this will be used to do whatever needs to be done, like homework or something." He directed at the office. "The bathroom on the right will be for the girls, and this one will be for the guys." Everything was pretty much straight-forward and blunt for the most part.

The best part of the whole apartment had to be the massive balcony overlooking part of the city, and the whole school. It was magnificent – of course, they were on the 13th floor (Why it's labeled 3d, I don't know).

San went back to the front door to get her box of stuff and start unpacking. Kaya was already starting to unpack her things. Between the two of them, the closet would be separated in half, and the drawers would be labeled off as "K" and "S". Both would have small dressers for more personal material items.

Kaya had a diary she kept in a drawer, a wallet, cell phone, keys, and a crystal dagger she kept hidden with the diary. San had a wallet, keys, and a picture of her great-grandfather.

He had such bold and defined features, but his expression seemed understanding and kind. His gentle smile and warm eyes drew San to keep the picture close at hand. He had large eyes, filled with laughter and jovial, and a pristine, yet slightly curved smile. He had an oval, almost almond shaped jaw-line with molded curves. He was the only hard-core proof that she came from another family.

When she finished, San went to the balcony to marvel in peace. As she leaned over the mildly painted pole, she took the time to inhale the air of a higher place. It was so relaxing to see the sunset. She got her 5 or so minutes, but then the door opened, closed, and someone stood next to her. She didn't need to say his name, and he didn't feel compelled to say her name either. It wasn't necessary. Words were not necessary. Not now, when the sun needed rest. Not when the moon was about to rise to light the way for creatures of the night. It just wasn't needed.

All was understood when the sun sank deeply into the horizon, and the country of the rising sun was taking a break from its name. And then he broke the peace.

"San…"

A/N: I hope the explanation wasn't too lame


	4. Who Are You?

I do not own Princess Mononoke

Chapter 4 – Who Are You?

She buried her face into the depths of her feather-stuffed pillow as she tiredly groaned softly. Kaya was at her piano lessons while the two monsters were out with friends. Ashitaka was in his room doing homework and listening to music with the T.V. on all at the same time (environmentally clueless). San tried to study and finish homework, but she couldn't concentrate with what happened. It was about 9 in the evening, and she was still in her uniform. She didn't feel like changing clothes.

_"San…" _His voice echoed in her head as she replayed the scene from the balcony. She remembered turning her head a little, annoyed that he broke the silence, but curious to why he did so. _"What do you think of this?"_ What did she think? Honestly, she objected to its whole being, but then again, she didn't want reporters breathing down her neck after it was over. She told him that she didn't care much for it, that she was more on the neutral side of things now. She remembered his melancholy eyes as he looked off at the dissipating horizon. It wasn't his usual 'spaced out' state, but it was as if he was really stuck in a chaotic position with himself. He could've said something to break his serious look, but he just kept staring as the stars started lighting up the grey-blue sky. This made her wonder if there was something deeper than a smart, yet head-in-the-clouds rich kid.

A slight breeze passed through the two on the 13th floor balcony, but Ashitaka seemed numb, or immune to the sense of touch. For a minute, he was deaf, blind, numb, paralyzed, and frozen in time. Just for moment, he was completely silence. Breathing was non-existent, and blinking was a luxury only for San in that instance.

'_What are you thinking?'_ She remembered saying to the frozen boy. She shouldn't have, in her opinion, but time was constantly moving forward. And the instance moved on as he finally closed his eyes, and pivoted his head ever so slightly. His coal black eyes were filled with an emotion of some sort.

And then he smiled.

Was he smiling at the dark? Was he amused by her question? What did it mean? Whatever it meant, it made San turn pink, even as she resurfaced from the pillow. How could a guy, who showed no, if any, emotion on a daily basis, make her blush with something simplistic as a smile?

He mumbled something quick, and soft, but she couldn't catch the words. He pushed himself off the rail, leaving her as he came. Ashitaka, in one word, was soft-spoken. So childish, yet seemingly wise behind the scenes. Calm and tranquil as water on an evening lake. Was this the true him?

'Nah.' San answered herself. 9:30PM – okay, so maybe she would take a shower about now. Just because Kaya, Taka, and Kai were out. Over that, she didn't need to worry about Ashitaka. He wasn't a peeping tom…was he?

She started to strip as she threw her bath and shower supplies in a pile so she could move them into the bathroom. The bathroom was down the hall on the left for the girls. That meant whoever was going to and from the girls' bathroom and room had to pass the boy's bathroom and bedroom.

'Ugh. I'm so smelly.' She thought to herself as she tossed her uniform in the hamper. She gathered her supplies in her towel and moved them over to the bathroom. Taking a hot shower when your going through stress is the absolute best. Well, massages are better, but showers are good too. After San was all squeaky clean, she dried herself off with her towel. Then it hit her like a rock. 'My…Clothes!' She panicked. Then she thought back to realize her mistake. 'I had so much stuff I couldn't carry my pajamas in too!' She started to wrap the towel around her body. She decided that this was her problem, and she couldn't yell for Ashitaka. Besides, her panties were among the things in her pile of pajamas. That and the fact he was practically blasting his music (Probably his own music) through the walls. 'I'll just have to get it myself.' Ashitaka was amusing himself with other matters, so he wouldn't come out of his room. It was flawless.

'Okay, I can do this.' San readied herself. She opened the bathroom door, and started down the hall, looking around, as if paranoid. She then started to walk a little faster, and then she heard his door starting to open. 'Sprint, San, sprint!' and she did. By the time his door opened, she was safe behind her door. 'That…was close.' She breathed wildly. Time to change. She slipped on her undergarments, and took the towel off the put her shirt on. As the shirt fell pass her navel, her door opened almost instantaneously.

"San, what do you want for –…" He started, and then stopped. Through natural instinct, she tried pulling her shirt down further to cover her panties up. "…dinner?" He finished.

"Close…" She responded in a raspy voice of shock. "CLOSE THE DOOR!" She yelled wildly at him, and he obeyed almost immediately. After she slipped her pants on, she tore the door open, but he fell backwards as soon as the door was ajar. He tried balancing himself by supporting his weight with his back foot, but his path was blocked by San. He fell, and then pushed San backwards as well. Another omen? Or just bad luck? San believed the latter.

When they landed (hard), San had trouble breathing because of his head was crushing her stomach. She propped herself up, and tried pushing him off her so she could breath, but he just sat there.

"Hey. Are you okay?" San asked as she looked over to look at his face. A second of silence, and then…

He laughed.

He was laughing in a jovial amusement. He had to close his eyes because he was laughing so hard. San was confused at first, but as she saw him laughing, she started laughing with him. How could she not laugh? He had a great smile, and an even better laugh. It was just so…sincere and warming. They had a fit of laughter for about 2 minutes until they finally calmed down.

"That was…unexpected." San was still grinning. Ashitaka chuckled a little, and replied, "I didn't know you were going to open it so suddenly." He was still resting his head on her stomach. He tilted his head back and rolled his charcoal eyes up at her. For some reason, his eyes looked lighter now. Compared to when she first met him, it turned at least a shade lighter. Was he content?

"You…" He started. He then tucked his head back, and nudged his head further into her stomach a little more. "…smell nice." San had a blushing fit, even though it was probably due to the scented body wash and shampoo.

"H…Hey…" She tried moving back. He didn't move. Dead? No. 'Asleep!' She confirmed the snoozing teen. He must've been pretty tired from moving in everything from earlier. What to do now? Move away so his head knocks against the floor? Quickly replace herself with a pillow or two? No. 'I'll just, stay here.' She thought as she reached for a blanket. She pulled it over him, and then she reached a pillow to sleep on herself.

His head was really heavy, but then again, he was pretty smart, right? She smirked at her own little joke, and then set her head down on the pillow to sleep. As the minutes went by, his head seemed to get lighter and lighter.

San woke up on her bed with a blanket over her. When she finally realized she was sleeping on her side, she woke up a little more to look for Ashitaka. He had gotten up before her, and carried her over to the bed. For some reason, she couldn't see him as a morning person. She was about to go back to sleep when she caught a whiff of breakfast. Someone was cooking something delicious. She looked over her shoulder to see Kaya sleeping soundly under her bed covers.

As she crawled out to find the source of the aroma, she noticed that the boy's room was empty except for Kai, who was still sleeping. The smells tasted just like Moro's, but it had a slightly different flavor. The one who was cooking sweet food, was none other than Taka, slaving over the stove.

"Taka?" San surprised the boy, but he didn't show it. He didn't acknowledge her other than a small grunt. "Are you making breakfast?" San sat down, waiting for a meal.

"This isn't for you." He denied her seating. San looked down at the table settings. Two plates, two sets of silverware, folded napkins, and even a flower in a small glass vase. A light went off in her head.

"I see. I'll leave you be, but if there's any leftover, call me." She got up from the seat, and pushed the chair back in its place.

"San?" Taka halted her as she stood at the entrance to the kitchen from the hallway. "What do girls talk about?" He was nervous as hell, but he covered it with the sizzling of the sausages. San smirked.

"The same things guys do, except not as vulgar. Mind your manners." She gave her advice and continued walking back to her room. Usually, she wouldn't want to play 'matchmaker' with other people, but this was an exception. "Hey, Kaya! Wake up!" San gently nudged the sleeping girl. Like a princess, she slowly opened her eyes, and rubbed the sand out. "Kaya, get ready, you're going to eat breakfast, okay?" San helped her up. Kaya sat there in a little daze, and then nodded an 'okay'. After she came back from the bathroom, San already shoved an outfit in her face, which she accepted.

It was a white tank top with a light eggshell colored blouse and a denim skirt which hugged her hips and fell just above her knees. She then trotted out to the kitchen. San watched the girl move along in pride.

"Hey, I smell food." Kai drowsily emerged from his room. "Cool!" He exclaimed as he could smell the food for sure. San grabbed him and locked her hand over his mouth to keep shut.

After a 'whisper' argument, Kai was forced back into his room, while San decided to go out. She slipped on a pair of dark blue jeans with a white, slightly fitted, short-sleeved shirt with the word 'GIRL' printed in little blue letters on the front. She trotted down the hallway to the elevator, and pressed the down button.

Going outside for fresh air was the (almost) absolute best when you needed to really clear your head. Hot showers and massages were by far better, but walking alone would do the job too. She walked passed her school, and towards the local park. Why did she have a weird feeling all of the sudden?

She spotted him at a distance, standing next to someone in the park. Another girl. She was a pretty little thing, with dark straight hair that fell to her elbows, and an oval face. Dark brown eyes were her greatest features, while fashionable clothes covered her petite figure. Was she a Fan? _Friend_? _Girlfriend_? **_Fiancée_? **

'You're going too far, San. Chill. Just…relax.' She slapped her hand against her cheeks, sucked in a load of anxiety air, and released while she set her hands at her side. She hid behind a bush, ignored the people walking by, and spied on the two for a little. 'Damn, I'm too far.' She tried leaning forward, but that wouldn't do her any good. She glanced back to see Ashitaka listening to the girl with his bored, emotionless face. She looked worried, or sad for some reason or another. San looked in all directions, the coast was clear, so she ran to a new spot to settle and listen. She quickly hid herself behind a tree and didn't dare look over.

"I…I really miss you!" San caught the girl confess. There was a moment of silence before Ashitaka could reply to her truthfully, which in most cases, he will.

"What were back then…should stay there. In the past. I don't want anything to do with you anymore." He rejected her completely. Like last Sunday's trash. San could almost feel how hurt that girl must've felt. That's just like him – to be as blunt and concise as possible. But it wasn't like him to be so…_cold. _

"But…I-I still like you…I like you a lot." She admitted her feeling for him with some nervousness in her voice. And she had every right to be nervous – she was confessing her crush for Ashitaka Eboshi. San took the opportunity to look over to take a glance at the two. "Ashitaka! Please think about that!" She pleaded. And then, she leaned forward and tilted her head up to try and steal a kiss. He covered her mouth with his hand, and stepped back.

"I don't. Now please leave me alone." He rejected again. What happened to the laughing teen that fell on her last night? Where was the smiling boy who fell asleep on her lap? And…where did the calm, and tranquil character standing on the balcony at sunset go? _Where are they?_

San hid behind the tree again. Ashitaka must've moved his hand off her mouth, because she had one last thing to say.

"Why are you so mean? Why did you change so much?" She demanded in a hurt voice. She sounded like she was on the verge of crying. Another pause, so San looked over again. Ashitaka and his stone face stood strong, and blank as ever. _They're not here…_

"Stop following me. Don't call me. Just leave me alone." Was all he had to say to her. The girl held her breath, and ran away from him. _Where did they go? _"San…you can come out now." Ashitaka called absently to her. She froze for a second, wondering how long he actually knew she was eavesdropping. She hesitantly stepped out and presented herself.

"How could you say that?" _It was really low_. With no reply, she felt like the girl and ran off, faintly hearing her own name being called, but she ignored him. He was an ass-hole…a stupid boy who…Who was someone she didn't know. That boy back there- who rejected that girl with his being, was not the same boy she lived with.

'I don't understand him at all.' She waved her thoughts and emotions of any jealousy away. 'Jealousy?' No. Not San. What was she jealous of? An ex-girlfriend?

Sanctuary within her room. She closed the door behind her and kept her back to it. She then slumped down in exhaustion. Not too long afterwards, the door opened again, and entered. It was him again. Did he run after her? He made his way down the hall, and stopped in front of her door. She prayed that he wouldn't try and open it. He would probably bulldoze the door open and flatten her like a rug. But he didn't. He just stood there, and slumped against the door to sit down back to back with her.

"She's just an old friend, who thought we had something, that's all." He dumbly explained. L-a-m-e.

"What do I care?" Stupid. He heard what you said, and he knew you cared enough to listen in on their 'conversation'.

"You tell me." He replied, for he obviously took the hints and was smart enough to add them up.

"Ashitaka…" She curled herself up and ducked her head to her knees. "I hate you." Why was the knot hurting so much in her throat? Why wouldn't it untie itself? Why….? What's the point? 'Am I a stupid girl for hating someone I don't know?' The knot gradually got smaller, but even when it was tiny, it refused to de-tangle itself.

_I want to find them. _

A/N: I take walks outside when I have a writer's block


	5. fair enough

Chapter 5 – Fair Enough (i do not own Princess Mononoke)

Focusing on homework was hard, but trying to listen to the teacher during class was even harder. She had no interest what-so-ever in paying attention to some foreigner who came overseas years ago when she had more modern, and more important, matters to think about. She kept glancing over at him, wondering what he was thinking, why he was thinking it. Was he thinking about that girl? Was he paying attention? Or was he…

'Listening to his iPod?' She followed the long black earphone cords to his right pocket. How the hell did he fit all those accessories in such few pockets? Sly devil, making everyone, especially her, look dumb while he's sitting in his seat, blasting the music away and breezing through the tests while the rest struggle to stay awake in class. She found herself smirk in amusement, but quickly shook it off. He looked so distant from the rest of the students; he looked studious and alert compared to the guys sleeping in the seat in front of him. Not an outcast, but not included within the major 'cliques' either. He was just there as some eye candy for the fan girls and walking news for the media to pounce on. She would've felt bad if he wasn't such a jerk.

The second hand on the clock seemed to move slower as the last minute passed. Only five more minutes. Just five.

'C'mon, c'mon!' San urged and pushed the time to go faster. The second hand passed the 30 second mark. 40…..45…. 'Let's move it!' she started sliding off the edge of her seat, trying to glare harder at the clock, as if she had magical eye powers that made the time go faster.

Ashitaka glanced over for a second, just for a peek at the girl who cried behind a door last night. She looked alright enough. Maybe he could tell her soon…

San crushed a pencil in half because of her impatience.

…Or maybe he could wait a few more days.

"Remember, in less than 2 weeks, you'll be taking your test for the quarter." The teacher reported strictly. Moans and groans drifted through the air as the bell rang on time. San threw the pencil halves in the garbage, and walked out of the classroom to get her lunch. As she opened up her locker, she found a pink envelope on top of her lunch box. Curiously, she picked it up and studied it carefully. She froze when she read the name:

_To: Ashitaka Eboshi._ With heart stickers slapped everywhere. It even had a larger heart on the point to keep it closed. She so wanted to just pop it into his locker, but there were so many people around! It was just a girl who mistook her locker for Ashitaka's (he chose his locker right next to hers).

'I hate this!' San fumed as she wanted to just tear the damn thing up. But she noticed that a girl was watching her from the corner. She was standing near the windows, crouching like a rabbit in a den. She was obviously the confessor. 'Christ…' San restrained herself. Once she thought about it, what would tearing up a piece of paper that wasn't even for her do any good? No sense. 'FINE! I'll just give it to him myself.' She looked over her shoulder to the confessor, and held the envelope up, and nodded as she smiled in approval that she would give it to him. The girl looked ecstatic and enthused. She then skipped off into the distance, knowing her letter was going to be specially delivered. San held the letter and stomped off to her classroom- with the pink and conspicuous letter in hand. No one really noticed her entrance, but they did notice the letter. She wanted to yell , 'IT'S NOT MINE! I'M JUST A DELIVERY GIRL!' But she didn't have the will. She slumped to her seat, opened her lunchbox, and slid the letter under her lunch box.

Ashitaka pulled his earphones out, and produced his own lunchbox, which Kaya had made for him as well as San's. She caught some of the girls whispering about their lunches. Probably just a confirmation that they were living together. San coughed to get his attention, but he didn't get it. He just started eating.

'Ahem' She faked the cough again as she slid the letter out with her elbow. He peeked over for a second, and then finally got it.

"What is that?" He was hesitant to take it, as if it contained a bomb or something.

"It's a love letter." San tried to be as concise as possible. Ashitaka waited. And waited. "What are you waiting for?" She was starting to lose it.

"Is it from you?" He finally reached for it.

"No." She wanted to say 'Hell no' but that was too long. He brought it out for the world to see, and opened it.

"What are you doing?" She set her chopsticks down nervously.

"You said it wasn't from you, so what's your problem?" Ashitaka revealed the white and purple paper covered in confessions of love. His eyes scrolled down the page, and then just stared at it.

"Who's it from?" San asked out of curiosity. He finally set the letter away from his eyes, and put it back in the envelope. He looked up at her with those contemplative eyes again. San let out a soft 'urk' in attempts to hide her expression.

"I don't know." He put the letter inside his bag.

"What? Isn't the name written on there?" San reached for it from his bag.

"Well, yeah. But I don't know who it is exactly." He continued eating his lunch. San admitted to herself that she would say the exact same thing if she was in his shoes. That's exactly what she would've done; just ignore it. But then again, would she have at least told the confessor how she felt about him. As San wondered 'what if' she felt the weight of a thousand glares upon her. She was going to give way to the unseen force, but she managed to turn her head towards the unwanted attention spotlight. The weight suddenly lifted as the others pretended to go back to their lunches.

'I really hate this school.' She turned back to her own business. A phone rang – it was a tune to one of Ashitaka's hit songs. He revealed his cell from his pocket, and flipped it open to speak.

"Yes?" He asked into the phone without a greeting. "Tomorrow, already?" He slumped onto the desk. "Why so sudden?" He used his free hand to brush his bangs out of his eyes. "What time?" He asked, giving in. "I know. I have one last question." He used the palm of his hand to pin his bangs back, and then straightened up a little from his slumped position. "Why is the flight so early?" He waited a couple seconds, tried confirming if the other person was still on the line, and then flipped the phone back into his pocket.

"What's wrong?" San asked, trying hard to not sound too interested.

"Not much. I have to rehearse for another concert. My manager is pressuring me to pick up the pace, but it's really hard." Ashitaka just reminded San that he was a pop idol of Japan.

"Oh? How so?"

"I have to get up earlier than I normally do, and I have to work until the early hours of the morning. I only get about 2 hours of sleep, and on top of that, it feels really cramped." He had to vent the many horrid details. Oh the pain.

"Cramped? As in the stadiums too small?" San thought literally. Ashitaka took the break to space out at the window, where he studied the vast area surrounding the school. And then spotted the gates.

"Nah. I mean- really suffocating. They like breathing down my neck like reporters do. I get no free time, I have to eat take-out, and sleep on a rock of a mattress. On top of that…" He rambled on a few more words. He rested his head on his arms and turned to face San. His eyes seemed to grip her attention again. It was irritating how he had a way of doing that. She couldn't even blink when he stared like that. "I don't get to go home, or go to school." He sunk deeper and closer to the desk top. His eyes let go of her.

"You like school?" San hurriedly proceeded to eat the rest of her lunch to escape the glare. He moved his head and rested his chin on his forearms.

"Could say that. I was home-schooled for most of middle school. If I wasn't in business, I'd be as stupid as any D- student in this school." He poked at his rice with one of his chopsticks.

'business_.'_ She repeated to herself. That's right, he was an idol. A superstar model. A god in the media. "Well that explains why you look so air-headed all the time in class. This is probably 'review' for you." San half jokingly wrapped the mystery of 'why Ashitaka never seems to pay attention, yet still earn A's'.

"Not really. I'm learning a lot in high school this year. It's my first being in a public school with other kids in a long time." He revealed his secret. How does this guy do it? One mystery San might never know.

It was going to get really barren in their apartment – Since Kaya was also going away to Edo for a winter photo shoot and 2-month long custody with her father. That left only Taka, Kai, and herself left while Ashitaka would drive to the Tokyo stadium and stay at a local hotel for who-knows how long. Not lonely, just barren.

San found both Kaya and Ashitaka packing their bags as they mentally self-checked themselves to see what they needed, and what could stay at the apartment. Taka and Kai were out, probably being pain-in-the-asses for the law enforcement, and San was about to leave to pick up dinner. Before she left, the phone rang, but she just yelled at Ashitaka to get it for her. She grabbed her keys, money, and jacket before closing the door. She took the elevator down, sharing it with a young man older than her, holding a bouquet of flowers and staring at his wrist every 5 to 8 seconds. The only conclusion:

'Going on a dinner date.' San thought as she glanced over from the corner of her eye until they reached the ground floor. She was right- standing outside the door was girl waiting in a sophisticated skirt and a cropped jacket. 'Hold on a sec…' San walked faster to confirm her eyes. It was that same girl! That girl who told Ashitaka about her feelings! The one that cried in the park. She was looking a little happier, and was cleaned up for her date. As San walked by, she stole one last glance at the girl before moving on. Thankfully, the girl didn't recognize her, so she just minded her own agenda. 'She seems to have moved on.' San had to admit, she was a little happy for the girl. If Ashitaka wasn't 'the one' maybe this guy was.

From out of nowhere- a dashing shadow came and shoved its hand down her back pocket of her jeans, and had a hold of her wallet, but she quickly grabbed the wrist attached, spun around, and pinned him to the ground.

"I give! Get off me!" The young voice cried out in rough mercy. San didn't quite trust the little pick-pocket, so she slowly slid off his back and clung onto his whole arm. He squirmed and wriggled, but San was much stronger, and had a firm grip.

"C'mere you little thief! I'm gonna turn you in for that." San threatened in an upper-authority voice.

"C-Code blue!" The boy screamed into the ally-ways. All at once, several boys surrounded and blocked her path. Most of them were armed with either slabs of wood, or metal poles.

"Who's the punk that wants to mess with us?" A voice rang through the ally. San twitched, and snatched her wallet from the boy's hand.

"You wanna die tonight?" Another echoed the first. San was prickling with anger and annoyance. She let go of the boy and smacked him hard over the head. A way of saying "Get lost!" in San-lingo. He must've spoken it fluently. San clenched her fist tightly, and clamped her teeth down hard. She then anticipated, and listened to movement. They were dropping from above as an ambush. She charged forward, and landed one in the stomach of voice number 1. Nailed it. She opened her hand and slapped the face of voice number 2. Bulls eye. The two figures from above crashed to the ground in crippling pain.

"You idiots!" San picked the two up by the collars. "How many times do I have to tell you…" She started to lecture the two mercilessly.

"…not to attack in the dead of night." The two responded obediently. Taka developed one rose-sized black and purple-blue mark just above his navel, while the whole left side of Kai's face was as red as blood.

"That's right! And…" She sniffed the air inquisitively. Taka and Kai took one look at each other, and covered their mouths with their jacket collars. They faced opposite directions and tried breathing away from San. "You smell like cigarettes and alcohol! You stupid little juveniles!" She stuck out an accusing finger at the two of them. The rest of the gang stood in utter silence- stunned and confused.

"What's going on here?" An older boy called out as Kai and Taka stood to attention. San casually looked over her shoulder, just to see who disrupted her scolding. A boy of about 17 stepped forward, wearing a loose white shirt, a loose zip-up jacket, and camouflage- cargos. He had messy black hair- on the longer side with bangs covering most of his forehead and pocking at his eyes. He had biker gloves, and black tennis shoes.

"Taka and Kai got schooled." A boy holding a metal pipe reported.

"It's not like that!" Kai interrupted before his pride would get scarred for life.

"She's our sister!" Taka explained.

"Your sister?" The boy questioned with doubt in his voice. He scanned San, and walked forward. "I don't see any resemblance."

"I was adopted, fool." San spat. She didn't like the vibes she was getting from this guy. He obviously wasn't listening, he was too busy studying her.

"That's interesting, cause I thought she was a guy…" Before he could finish his train of out-loud thought, a flying fist rammed him in the cheek, and sent him eating pavement.

"You're not too suave, are you?" San relaxed her fist and let her hand flop in the air to the side. "You two – I'm picking dinner up. You'd better be back before 11 or your sorry butts won't get anything." San instructed as she walked over the boy.

"Shinji! Are you alright!" The boys came at his side to help him up. Shinji's eyes were open, but he was still on the ground. It stung a little, but what kept him down was the amazement that hit him like…like a flying fist of doom. It literally came out of nowhere. No girl had ever landed one like that before. A couple managed to try and slap him for hitting on them, but never before- had one sent him to the ground. It was beautiful and feisty. The perfect woman. Shinji shot up and smirked. He tasted his metallic-flavored blood in his mouth, and spit it out.

"Awesome." He muttered to himself.

A/N: the scary thing - Shinji is based on a real-life character in my life. A tough-guy macho-ist. He has a bigger-than-average ego, but he has brains- and that bugs me.


	6. Run, Don't Walk

I do not own Princess Mononoke

Chapter 6 – Run, Don't Walk

The morning San started getting ready for school, only Taka and Kai were left. She couldn't help but take a peek in his room, even if he wasn't there. Something inside kept believing he would still be sleeping under the covers, but he wasn't. He was in a car, on his way to the airport to drop off Kaya, and then drive down to the hotel. She grabbed a hold of the sheets, and pulled them closer. A long time ago, Moro used to tell her that every one had a scent- you just had to stop to remember it. Engrave the smell into your memory. Many strangers smell the same at first, but if you stay with someone long enough, you'll grow accustomed to their scent, and vice versa. When she was little, she didn't believe her mother, but now that his scent was all around her- she finally realized that she was telling the truth.

_"You smell nice"_ San remembered what he had said that night. The night he laughed at her, the night he fell asleep on her lap. The night he proved to her that he was human. He probably knew about the truth of a human scent as well. He had already proven to her that he was more than what he put up to be. He was just full of surprises.

A phone rang from a near distance. It was muffled, but it sounded like a close muffle. She slid off the bed, and listened to the ring. It wasn't the apartment phone, this ring was distinct as a tune. She re-entered her room, and lifted her pillow up. There, she found a brand new cell phone. It looked exactly like her old one- but it was updated. It kept ringing until she finally flipped it open.

"San? Are you alright?" His voice asked calmly. It's not like she was in the hospital or anything. He made it sound like she missed him, like some kind of child mopping around for her parent to come home from a business trip.

"What? Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?" She demanded, though it was nice to hear his voice.

"I'm sorry." He ignored her last comment. Or was he apologizing for that very reason? "I didn't say 'good-bye' when I left, so I decided to leave your cell phone with you until I thought you would get up." He was starting to sound like a parent now.

"Don't be stupid, wait… 'my cell phone'?" She repeated.

"Yeah. Last night, the phone company called for you, but you stepped out to get dinner. They told me they were sorry for the delay in the delivery of your phone, and they already shipped it to your house. So I went down to your house and picked it up for you instead. I was going to give it to you last night, but I forgot." He explained. Last night. She didn't even want to think about last night again. It was like an annoying nightmare.

"It's okay. Thanks, Ashitaka." She smiled, even though he didn't see it. Instead of saying something like 'you're welcome' or 'no problem' he had to say _that_.

"It's nice when you smile. I like it." He commented her non-visual smile from the phone. San blushed madly, and covered it with anger. Was he back to normal yet? She couldn't tell over the phone. He had such a brick wall face, nobody would ever know what he thinks at the exact moment. San, on the other hand, was different. Whenever she disapproved of something, Moro would always pat her head and give her a lecture of 'life sucks, so deal with it' speech. If that still didn't break San, she'd go on about 'There are people living in this world who are so much more unfortunate than you are', and that usually got her.

"I-I wasn't smiling! I was just thanking you, that's all!" San yelled into the receiver. He chuckled again from the other side.

"Okay. Just tell your brother's I said 'bye'. I'll be home after the concert ends." He settled down from his laughing.

"Yeah bye." She hung up, and then stared at the screen of the phone. Her lips automatically curved up, and her hand slipped it into her school bag. As Taka and Kai leaned against the elevator walls from lack of sleep, San pressed the 'down' button. She then whacked both of them on the head to wake up. When the doors opened; she wished the elevator had shut down around the third floor.

**He** was standing in their path. In her path.

"Mornin'." He greeted with a mischievous smirk. He had a school uniform on, but it wasn't from San's school. It was from the other district next to San's.

"Shinji?" Taka rubbed his eyes.

"What are you doin' here?" Kai finished Taka's question.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to start escorting your sister to school. Now…" He was going to turn his undivided attention towards San, but she had long gone. Instead of going through him, she went and avoided him by going out the back way.

'What the hell? How did he find out where I live?' San was running for her life as she hurried (for once) to school. For the first time, she wished Ashitaka was present so she could use him as a repellent to that guy. She felt safe once she entered the school grounds and passed the gate.

"You run pretty fast. That's athletic quality, ya know." His voice praised her from behind. She prickled with shock and annoyance. How did he catch up with her so fast?

"Stop bugging me!" She started to bolt for her first period.

"Stop runnin'!" He shouted back at her. She ran behind a corner to throw him off, and to take a break. There's no way he was that fast. She peaked behind the corner, and looked around to see if he was near or not. The coast looked clear enough, but just when she was about to step away from her hiding place…"Damnit, you've gotta slow down." He wheezed as he approached her from behind again.

"Get away!" She started to freak out.

"Don't be like that!" He replied, as if they were a quarreling couple…which they **weren't**. She opened the door to her classroom, and entered. "Hey, at least say 'good-bye'." He panted right before she stepped into the class. Without looking back, she shut the door on him. If getting to school was a struggle for freedom, getting home would be war.

"Omigod, was that Shinji Nakahara? He's such a hottie!" A girl from a distant corner squealed.

"I know, he may be a bad boy, but he's so cool!" Another cooed. As the entire girl-population of the classroom swooned over San's alleged stalker, she had to take a seat before passing out. A bird was tapping on the window, so San didn't bother paying attention to anything so insignificant. But her seat was pretty close to the window anyways, so she slightly nudged her head. Her whole body stiffened as the tapping came from **that guy** waving to her from the other side of the window.

"Hey, hey, wave back to me!" His muffled voice called out. Giggles and ooglie eyes washed over San like a wave. She turned her head the other way to see bunches of little girl groups waving back at him. San stood up and pulled the blinds down.

When the bell rang, everyone noticed that Ashitaka wasn't present. But then everyone realized his new concert is coming around the corner. His Christmas and New Year's concert. What a mess that's going to be.

'Oh god, I don't even want to think about it.' Groupies, rabid fans, the possible horrors are close to endless. She was unusually unfocused than usual today. All day she just sat, half-listening, half-away in her own world. Even when running home to get away from that guy she was still thinking. Every time she tried picking up her pencil for homework, it was just tapped consistently against the blank paper to have the lead either broken off or dulled. She would sharpen it, blow the shavings off, and continue tapping. Was it bad that she couldn't get herself into gear? She noticed that all the questions on the paper seemed to be in a different language all together whenever she got that little ounce of strength to look at them.

Maybe a bath was the best thing for her right now. Just a nice, long, hot soak. She set her pencil down, grabbed her PJ's, and walked down the hall to the bath. As she ran the shower water to heat up, she sat on the floor behind the door, and remembered the day when she had to run all the way back to her room and he caught her still changing. She smirked and continued to relive that day. His heavy head resting on her stomach, the way he just fell asleep. Her hands covered her face and she buried herself within them, trying to just go back. What did she want? What was she waiting for?

The bathroom got steamy from the hot water, it was a signal telling San that she should take her shower already. The rain of hot water beating against her back felt good, but her mind was off somewhere else.

She walked passed his bedroom. His scent was disappearing. It was getting barren without the slightest hint of him anywhere. Not even Kaya. It was just Okina. She couldn't finish her homework, so she just turned the news on and started to make dinner; instant noodles.

For some reason, instant noodles just wasn't instant enough for her. The package said three minutes, but she had to wait five, sometimes even ten.

Her cell phone rang from her room so she quickly made her way to her desk where she kept her phone recharged overnight. She quickly flipped the phone open and pressed it against her ear.

"San? Did I wake you up?" He asked with a sluggish tone.

"No. It's fine." She sounded absent-minded, but she was glad he called.

"That's good. I'm sorry I haven't called you in a while. It's been a little hectic over here. They're working me really hard." He told her as he collapsed on some sort of mattress. He was probably done with his rehearsals for the day, and decided to call her out of boredom.

"It's alright. You must be tired from today." She felt a little ache in her stomach slowly work its way up through her chest and up her throat. She swallowed it, but it came back up. What did she want to tell him so badly her body would turn against her?

"You sound occupied, am I bothering you?" He questioned as he listened carefully to her words. San looked over to the pot filled with lukewarm water,the package of instant noodle, and then looked at the clock.

"No, not really." There it goes again. That almost acid taste churning upwards as she spoke.

"I see. In that case, I can ask you something, right?"

"Yeah, sure." She replied while staring at the pot of water, trying to make it boil faster. Maybe occupying herself with something else would make it go away somehow. There was a slight pause before anything was said. She could hear his light breath on the receiver, the rustling of his body against sheets, and even the phone fidgeting around his ear. No use, it came back now trying to force her lips open as the silence continued.

"Will you come to my concert?" This was the first sign that he seemed as if he regarded San as a 'friend'. Inviting her to a concert was a friendly way to tell her that he thought about her some. Completely casual. Nothing huge. So why…why did her face feel weird? Why did her body shift uncomfortable when she was happily nested on a sofa? This feeling acting as an extra push to whatever was forcing its way out of San's mouth. It was just too strong for her will to handle. She had to say it someway.

"Ashitaka, I…" She got through a part of it, but her body cut it off. She shut her eyes closed tightly. She was short of breath, if she drew in a wisp of air, it would explode out as something she could regret for a very long time. She paused, trying to find a different set of words. Desperately searching, but her mind was off somewhere, no one was there, not even the brats.

The water started to release steam, boiling, with bubbles rising and popping at the surface level. She considered herself saved by a pot of water.

"Ashitaka, I need to eat dinner now, bye!" She hurriedly hung up the phone, and buried it within the sofa pillows. She covered it with another pillow, and stared at the pillow. Her heart was still racing. It was still pounding, beating as if it formed a clone of itself to keep up with the beats. Her hands were damp and clammy, her face was warm and her legs were like jelly.

'So what if he invited me? Its not like I'm the only one going. There'll be his fans at his beck and call no matter what. He won't even see me in the crowd.' She built up enough strength to go and dump the noodles into the water. As the steam brushed her face, she kept here eyes on the noodles. 'He's a pop star in Japan, living with a rich girl. Any fan of his would trade places with me any day. I'd probably go through with it too if opportunity allowed me.' Her brown stubby locks shifted as she tilted her head down. 'I'm so weak. I can't even tell him…' The steam was making her hot. 'No…I can never tell him. I'm not allowed to.' She was starting to perspire from the extended time emerged it hot steam. She stirred the noodles until they broke off from each other, but still entangled within the confinement of the pot. She then poured the packet of powdered broth into the pot. Along with a drop of salty water. 'That's right, I can't ever tell him. We're too different.' Another drop.

_Drip…Drip_

'But at least…we're near, even when we're not.'

Tonight's dinner was going to be extra salty.

A/N: Writer's Block's suck. It seemed like I was typing a word a day ever since the last update. Much apologies.


	7. ive Lost It

I do not own Princess Mononoke

Chapter 7 – I've Lost It

A/n; Sorry guys, I know some of you might want to know what happens next between Ashitaka and San but I just had to get this off my mind. I've had this idea for a very long time. I hope you enjoy this little filler chappie 3

His hair poked at his eyes, and his necklace clasp sometimes caught on stray hairs on the back of his neck. He would stare at his shoes, his dirty hands, and then at the mirror. He would question who he'd be staring at. And remember that he was loyal to only one. The only girl he really cared for was his sister. He would do anything if she actually asked him, but she never did. He would protect his brother at all costs, and he would stand by Shinji through anything. Only these people were who he would actually care to see everyday. He could care less about other people.

_"1…2…3…" _

_"Keep your eyes closed Taka!" _

_"Right, sorry…1…2…3…" _

_"Come on Kai, we gotta hide!" _

_"You're it Taka! Keep your eyes closed and don't peek until 10!" _

"Stupid…" He mumbled as he snapped out of his childhood memory. A box of cigarettes appeared before him being held by Shinji's arm. Taka accepted one and took out his own lighter.

"Where's your double?" Shinji leaned against the wall near the bench Taka was lying down on.

"Downtown. Said he was going to buy some stuff with some of the guys." Taka watched the sliver of smoke coil around air and float towards the stars. The smoke would always make his eyes sting, but he never showed it.

"And you didn't go with them? They have a habit of picking street fights with Kaname's Kids. They can't play nice, you know?" Shinji played around with his words a little. He was teasing the underclassmen. Taka didn't laugh, he never did at Shinij's little jokes but he did acknowledge them. "You have something on your mind." He had a knack for reading him like a book on display every now and then.

"I might." Taka wanted to drop it. He wasn't exactly proud of what his memory made him think of.

"You do." Shinji swiped the smoke out of Taka's mouth and waited. He sighed and shifted himself on the bench.

"There's someone I know…Who's different." He began.

"No shit. That's how fights start." Shinji took a whiff from his smoke. Taka hesitated, as he knew that was coming.

"**She **isn't like the rest." He began vaguely. Shinji paused, and exhaled smoke from his nose and dropped the smoke to the ground before he began to collect his thoughts.

"She doesn't like you, huh?" Shinji concluded, as he was in the same position.

"I don't know. She's complicated."

"I think you're just dense." Shinji leaned back into the wall again.

"You should talk…" Taka's tone was directed towards Shinji's act to win San's attention.

He let a little chuckle of amusement out and replied nonchalantly, "That was just for fun. For a bit, I convinced myself that I might've found her, but I was so wrong. I can tell she has eyes for someone else." He began to show a side Taka had never seen before. Shinji could read women?

"She does? How can you tell?" Taka sat up a little in surprise. This was new information.

"Because no girl would punch that hard if she didn't." He scratched at his cheek a little and laughed. Taka just stared at him as in 'I don't think so'. "I kid, don't worry, I was just making assumptions, that's all." He joked.

An underclassmen ran up to the both of them, stopping their conversation, telling them of a street fight that had broke out downtown. Indeed, a fight bigger than what was imagined had broken into chaos in the streets. Pedestrians were getting caught in the cross-fire, people were getting thrown into windows, and the police were slow to respond.

"What a mess." Shinji scanned the fighting area.

"We have to break this up somehow. Other people are getting involved." Taka surprisingly replied valiantly. He rushed in before Shinji could stop him. Both tried to break up brawls with their members and the other's. Being the stronger, and more skilled fighter, Shinji was able to rip a fight in half with his bear hands. He took a guy from the brawl, and pinned him against a wall.

"You. Where do you belong? Who started all this?" He demanded.

"Kiss my ass!" The boy replied scornfully as he spit a wad of blood and saliva at Shinji's face. Shinji quickly jammed his fist into the boy's stomach and held him down tighter and harder.

"That was a warning. Stop being stubborn and just tell me who!" The boy took a little to recover from the blow. He looked up and blinked through his swollen eyes.

"…I don't know, by the time I got here, some guys from Shinji Nakahara's gang were already fighting our guys." He coughed up some blood, so Shinji let go and moved on.

"Idiots!" He cursed to himself. While trying to break up more little fights, he heard a scream that seemed all too familiar. He looked over his shoulder…and almost screamed himself.

While Taka jumped in, and tried to others to help him break up other fights as well. But as he tried to break up one fight, his eyes spotted the one person that made his blood boil. His hairs prickled on ends, and his gut began to harden as he took his first step forward.

"Hiro Kaname…" He said to himself, to anyone normal, they wouldn't be able to hear his call among a brawl, but Hiro's eyes picked up on his name. He turned towards the source, and smirked. Kaname was another gang leader. Actually, rival to Shinji, but Taka considered him a personal rival. In middle school, he broke Kai's arm and fractured his leg. Shinji was able to walk away with a twisted ankle, but his pride wasn't damaged. He was able to dislocate 4 ribs and shatter 2. Hiro was, in the most concise description, a cocky bastard. Now was his chance to release his anger, his hate, his fury. Now was the perfect time. They both walked towards each other, but before Taka could throw one hard punch to the face, Hiro took a bat from a nearby fighter, and swung hard.

If it was a ball, it would've been a homerun hit. But for Taka, it managed to make everything dark and painful. He hit the ground, but it didn't make a difference. Falling to the ground was nothing like what he was experiencing. His hands covered his eyes in pain, soaking in his own blood. Someone was calling to him, actually, a few people, but he couldn't focus whose voice belonged to whom. He tried opening his eyes to identify, but the pain was so intense he had to keep it shut. He let another scream of agony out as he felt himself being picked up and carried off. He thought of Kai, Shinji, San…and her.

'This could be it. I could die. I can't see any of them after this.' He thought as his own screams began to fade. He was set down, and many hands held him down as he kept screaming. Hands tried to take his hands off his face, but it wasn't enough to hold him down. A crushing blow to his stomach rained down, almost as great a pain as his eyes, but still not enough. It stunned him for a bit and that when the hands locked his arms down at his sides. A needle went straight into his arm, and everything wasn't just dark and painful, it was heavy too.

_"…4…5…6.." _

_"Hurry! He's almost at 10!" _

_"I know!" _

_"7...8…9…" _

_"Hide!" _

_"…10! Kai! Onee-san! I can't find you!"_

_"Open your eyes then look, Taka!" _

_"I can't! I can't open my eyes! Tell me where you are!" _

When he woke, it didn't feel like he really woke up. It was still dark, his stomach hurt, and he felt drowsy. Then, like a savoir, a calming voice called out to him.

"Taka...Are you awake?" A voice so soothing, so pleasant, calling his name. But who was it?

"Who's there?" He turned his head where he thought the voice was coming from, but a hand touched his chin and re-directed it.

"It's me. Kaya." She identified herself.

"Kaya…" He repeated. "I thought…you were away on…"

"I had to come back because your brother called me I cancelled the shoot and came here." She explained her presence.

"T-Thanks…" He relaxed his body a little. He tried picturing what she looked like, but he couldn't. He wished he could open his eyes, but they were locked shut.

"Well, I heard from the doctors. They said you can leave after tomorrow morning." Kaya brightened up. Taka sat still, and thought to himself, replaying what happened the night before.

"I won't be able to see, will I?" He pessimistically stated bluntly. She paused, and moved in her chair.

"…No, you won't. Whatever hit you damaged your nerves and the retina permanently. You're eyes won't be able to bring in light, or shape to the brain." She explained the other part of the report to him forlornly.

"I'm blind, then…" He softly summarized.

"Yes." She confirmed. 'But…Do not worry about it."

"Worry? I've lost my sight to the one person I despise, and now I'm useless. You're telling me not to worry?" He snapped softly at her, though he couldn't see her. He could've been yelling at a wall for all he knew.

"That's right. Don't worry. Because San, Ashitaka, Kai, and I are all here. Just to help you." She replied kindly.

"She's absolutely right."

"Shinji?" Taka moved his head again.

"Don't stress about it. Look at the bright side! I read somewhere that people who've lost one of their senses, their remaining senses become stronger." He tried cheering his friend up. "And of course, you're still in my gang." He added casually.

"Gang?" Kaya questioned in surprise.

"Yup, but we're a different gang, you know?" He laughed. Kaya sat uncomfortably in her chair, a sign telling him 'not really'. "Ahh, you'll get it later…maybe."

The next day, Taka went back home with Kaya. He was given a walking stick and Kaya was given directions on how to teach him how to get around. He refused her offer in hooking arms to go home, but the walking stick was hard to use, and he tripped over curbs, and bumped into people. Soon after leaving the hospital, Kaya took the walking stick away from him and took his arms and pulled him in so she could maneuver him easily. His bandages were still over his eyes, so of course, people stared at him, but it's not like he knew. He could've cared less even if he could see them. But he knew people would stare.

"Are people staring?" He wanted to confirm.

"Nope." She lied, but Taka couldn't tell. He just wanted to know or not.

"You're too socially-conscious. You need to forget about those kinds of things." She explained to him while waiting for the light to turn green.

"Right…Sorry." He exhaled.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't know. Automatic response, I guess."

"When time comes, people aren't going to take your apologies very seriously." She joked, but Taka couldn't tell the difference.

"Right, I'm sorry." He stiffened.

"Relax, I was just kidding." She chuckled as she could see how awkward he must've felt.

"Oh, okay. Sorry about that….ah, I mean…okay." He caught himself and tried to recover from it.

"It's alright, ah! Come on it turned green! Hurry!" She pulled him along across the street. He never noticed, but he could hear a woman talking on her cell phone as she walked with them across the street. He could hear the engine of a car rumbling as he passed in front of it, and he could sense a curb coming. If he paid attention, he could sense if something dangerous was coming, like a wall, or a pole in his path. Of course, he didn't need to since Kaya was leading him closely.

'He was right…This is strange.' He thought as Kaya pushed through some crowds. As she pushed through, he could feel something in his gut. It was coming his way, and he didn't like it. It was something even his senses could pick up on. Like a stench, the stink that flowed through his inners churned his attention to what he felt was Hiro Kaname. He brushed someone's shoulder, and for a second, a chill went down his spine. He turned his head around, but remembered it wouldn't make a difference even if it was Kaname.

'I may not have my sight. But that won't stop me. Not by a long shot…Not as long as I have people I need to protect. Not as long as I can breath, speak, and move.' He told himself. 'You will regret this…'

"Can you sense it?" Kaya asked as they suddenly stopped.

"Sense…what?" He questioned back.

"Home." She smiled. That, he could sense. That's all he could sense. Her aura. Home wasn't home without that.

"Now I can…" He softly replied.

A/N: Have you ever started typing up a scene, and you're only half-paying attention to what you're actually typing? And then something distracts you from typing, and you come back to read where you left off, and you tell yourself, "did I type that!" I usually get that every other chapter or so. All the really good scenes I'm usually half- aware that I'm typing it. Probably because my attention is daydreaming the scene as it plays through my head like anime. I type what I see. That's why I have to re-read and edit a ton of stuff before I can post most of the time U.


	8. Nothing is Coincidence

I do not own Princess Mononoke

a/n: moving along (I guess the filler made a curve in the story)

Chapter 8 – Nothing is Coincidence

Her face got uncomfortably hot as she stood over the bubbling pot that was supposed to be dinner. She wasn't hungry, but she turned the stove off and waited until the last of the bubbles popped. As she traveled over to the cupboards to retrieve a bowl and utensils, the phone rang. She solemnly set the bowl down on the counter and picked the phone up on the fifth ring.

"Hello?" She tiredly announced her half-attention. There was scrabble in the background, like things being rummaged and people scurrying around. Someone was breathing hard into the receiver.

"San! It's Taka! You have to come to the hospital now! He's injured badly…like…L-like really hurt! You have to come!" Kai's voice strained to form his messaged. He sounded distressed and panicked. It took San a second to realize that Taka must really be hurt for Kai to lose it completely like he did. She slammed the phone down, dug through the pillows for her phone and ran out the door. She ran hard to the hospital, and felt like she was flying over the pavement. Something was squeezing her heart as she inched closer to her brother. It squeezed and moved her heart around her chest, as if trying to prevent her from seeing her brother. As she ran, she passed a boy walking the other way with a bat in his hand. He had a blood splatter near the top of his shirt and half his face. There were flecks of red spotting the arm holding the bat, but the bat itself looked clean. He had bold and defined features; his lips were straight, and dark eyes locked her eyes. He had large eyes, and perfect lips. He had an oval, almost almond shaped jaw-line with molded curves. Her eyes locked on his for half a second, but she kept running.

'That guy…' She thought as she ran her hardest. '…He looked…' She began, but then she thought, '…That boy looked familiar…'

The hospital doors arrived and she dashed in, looking every which way to where her brother was. She heard bustling everywhere and everyone seemed busy- too busy to direct her to Taka.

"San?" Kai's voice trembled as he called out to her. She turned towards his voice and swallowed hard. His hands were covered in blood, and his face was smeared with blood from his hands.

"Kai!" She rushed over to him. "What happened? Where'd all this blood come from?" She tried cleaning up his face with the back of her hand. He grabbed her hand and ran to an emergency room. There, their brother was screaming in pain while his hands covered his face and Shinji was at his side. Before the doctors could rush him out, Shinji punched him in the stomach to help the doctors remove Taka's hands from his face. San backed away from the room and her heart started to beat faster than when she was running. Blood was running down his cheeks like rivers. It was like he was crying blood and his screams showed his pain. Shinji was finally pushed out of the room by force, and saw Kai and San.

"Shinji! What happened?" She turned towards a bloodied Shinji. He was more covered in Taka's blood than Kai. His clothes were splattered, and his hands were almost painted red. He quickly wiped excess blood off on his pants and walked over to watch from the window.

"Some punk swung as him hard at the eyes during a street brawl." Shinji pointed between his eyes. His glasses were missing, probably broken, but he didn't seem to care at this point.

"Swng at him? With a fist?" She said startled as she thought of brass knuckles and spiked gloves.

"A bat." He gritted. San stopped. Her eyes started to hurt, but she couldn't tell if it was from anger or sadness.

'A bat…' She repeated. A bat… "Who was it?" She calmly asked while thinking of the boy that passed her.

"This ass-wipe Kaname. Real son-of-a-bitch if you get what I mean." He kept his own eyes locked on Taka's suffering.

"Was he wearing a white shirt and black pants?" She remembered the boy. Shinji glanced over at her.

"You saw him?" He started to turn, while vengeance was burning inside of him.

"He was walking…towards my apartment building. He still had a bat in his hand." She told him. '…and he looked so…'

"I'll be at his side when he wakes up." Shinji left them, and started running out the door.

'…he looked sad.' She figured his expression out. 'Why? Why did you do it? How can you possible feel sad? Do you know how I feel? How dare you. You have no right.' She scolded the boy with her own anger.

"San." Kai broke her thoughts. "He's gonna be okay, right?"

"I…I don't know, Kai…I don't know." She tried to be strong for him. How could she be strong when she was crumbling with every second? Her source was unidentifiable, but it helped her. After Taka was sedated, they started cleaning him up, and tried to identify problems, and hopefully fix them.

"Kai…Call Kaya. Tell her to come back as soon as possible." She had to find a way to let Kai's eyes rest from the sight of his brother lying down on a white bed as his blood stained the sheets. She took her phone out, and dialed his number.

After the surgery, Taka was moved into a room of his own, there, San and Kai were allowed to wait at his bedside. Shinji never came back that night. Kai's eyes were layered with white bandages that wrapped around his head. He slept soundly, while Kai sat in a chair near the window, and San sat in a chair right next to his bedside. She set her head next to his hand, and went to sleep. A couple hours later, she woke up with a blanket around her she looked up at Kai, but he was gone.

"Did I wake you?" He asked. His voice sounded so comforting. She turned around to see both Kaya and Ashitaka. She shook her head and took the blanket off.

"When did you guys get here?" As she stood up, she didn't realize she was holding his hand while she was sleeping.

"Just now." He replied for both of them.

"How is he doing?" Kaya asked worriedly as she stepped closer.

"The doctors said he'll be fine, but his eyes are ruined, and because of severe damage, he's gone blind." Ashitaka folded his arms because of his news. San looked back at her brother, and smiled. 'At least he's alive.'

"You look exhausted." Ashitaka read her face.

"Just a little tired" she wiped her eyes.

"You should go home, come on, I'll take you there. Kaya, will you stay here?" He took her hand.

"Yes, I'd be glad to." She nodded as she took San's seat.

"W-wait a second…" San didn't know what to do first – tell him she didn't want to go home, or that he was holding her hand.

"Let's go." He pulled her out as Kaya waved good-bye.

Outside the hospital, San pulled back to stop him.

"Hold on! What are you doing! I have to be near him when he wakes up!" She tried going back.

"You're tired, and you need rest." Ashitaka warned.

"I can sleep in the room." She persisted.

"You need a bed." He studied the bags under her eyes. "If you push yourself too hard you could end up fainting from exhaustion and end up not being there when he wakes up anyways." He took her hand again to pull her along.

"I'm not a child!" She pulled back again. "Stop treating me like I'm inferior- I want to be by his side!" She demanded. She thought Ashitaka was being selfish for this. He stared at her with his dark orbs, and sighed. She froze up, like she always did, but this time instead of a stare down, he pulled her and tugged her into his arms. She was stunned, and stayed frozen.

"I haven't seen you in a long time, San." She gently pressed his cheek against her head. "I know you care about your brother, but Kai, Kaya, and I also care about him too. And I…I care about you too…" His hand cradled the back of her head while the other hooked around her back. "Just rest for a little…Then we can go back together in the morning." He slowly let go. She was still a little shocked from his touch, but her hand never moved, and she let him lead her home. She snuggled in her bed, and stared into the dark. She tried closing her eyes, but every time she tried sleeping, her eyes stung as she remembered the pain her brother was in. Then she remembered the boy, and how he looked so sad…and familiar. Where? Where has she seen him before? She didn't know his name…but he seemed like she knew him from somewhere before.

She couldn't sleep with all this in her head. She then thought of what Ashitaka told her. Finally, after much debate, she crawled out of her bed and made her way to his bedroom and walked in. He sat up and turned a light on.

"San? What's wrong?" He asked as she stood in the doorway with her pillow. She looked away and shuffled her weight.

"I…can't…sleep that well…" She hid her face behind her pillow because of her stubbornness. He lifted his covers and moved over. After she climbed in, he turned the light off, and went back to sleep. "Ashitaka?" She asked still awake.

"Hmm?" He mumbled.

"The boy that hurt Taka…I think I know him from somewhere." She faced the opposite direction of where he was facing.

"That right?" He softly replied.

"Yeah…but I don't know where…"

"I'm sure it'll come…go to sleep." San obeyed and tried sleeping again. This time, she tried picturing the boy again, and this time, she knew where he knew him.

A/n : dun dun duuuunnn….. ! Haha...Sorry, my eyes were beginning to strain so i had to end it somewhere. So I thought "hey! Why not here?" I know, u hate me for ending it, but hey, all good things must end. Sorry if the chapter is mediocre- it's late at night and I need a shower. I was afraid that if I went into the shower I'd lose my thoughts. So I had to type like no tomorrow. Hah. Sooo…to be continued – stay tuned. Love you guys.


	9. To see You

I do not own princess mononoke

Chapter 9 – To See You

a/n : yay – writing is fun if u know what you wanna write.

"Now the fork is on your right. More. More. Stop!" Kaya tried directing Taka in trying to eat breakfast on his own. He refused to have her feed him, so she suggested to 'guide' him. "It's right under your hand now and the head is facing away from you with the curve going towards the surface of the table." His steady hand slowly lowered to the fork, and cautiously picked it up. He wrapped his finger around the fork as if holding a pencil. He lifted it up, and tried finding the food. "The eggs are right hand side, bacon is on top, waffles take up the rest of the space, and toast is in the plate north of your main plate." He stopped before taking his first bite, and his mouth twitched. "What's wrong?" She asked, as she worried her food wasn't satisfying.

"I have to put the fork down to eat bacon…" He said. This was harder than he thought. He just realized how vital his eyes were for normal life. He heard footsteps coming in down the hall, and perked up.

It was San, and she was emanating an aura of distress or discomfort. Taka set his fork down where he thought was the table, and stood up, using the table as his guide to which direction he should face.

"What's wrong, San?" He asked as she stopped walking. She was silent for a moment, and let out a sigh.

"That boy…what's his name?" She quietly asked him in a melancholy tone. There was something wrong with her. He just didn't know why.

"What's the importance?" He inquired back.

"Taka…just tell me…" She knew Shinji told her earlier, but she just wanted to make sure, just in case she heard it wrong the first time…just in case. Maybe he was someone else.

"Hiro…Hiro Kaname." He carefully enunciated. A weak 'thump' from her shoulder bumping into the doorway proved there was something really wrong.

"San? Are you alright?" Kaya asked as she got up from her seat.

"No…I don't think I am." She replied in a raspy voice. 'Please, let him be someone else. Anybody else. Please…Please….' She begged a higher being of some sort. She knew someone would be in Tokyo, but why him? Why now?

The door flew open, and it sounded like more than one person.

"Hey! Anyone home?" Shinji's voice called out. The door slammed again, while San and Kaya went to the door to investigate.

"Oh my--- Kai! What happened to you?" Kaya gasped.

"Where have you two been?" San asked as someone fell onto the couch. Taka was walking alone from the table to the doorway- one foot in front of another. It took him longer than expected, but he made it, and followed the walls to the couch. With Kaya's help, he made it to the couch, and used his hands to see who it was. It was Kai – and his eyes were half-closed, and he was sweating, bleeding, and clearly in pain. He smelled like last night's smokes and dirt. He followed his shoulder line down to his arm- but that was rudely interrupted by a large, hard bump protruding out from inside his arm. Like someone placed an iron ball where the elbow was. Taka retracted his hands back quickly.

"How are you?" He figured Shinji could give a vocal report. Kai was conscious, but barely. He could hear everyone, but every word jammed together with another.

"Alive. A few scratches here and there. Nothing serious." He concisely replied. "Him, on the other hand, has seen better days. Popped the bone right out of its socket."

"Who did this to you guys?" San asked in a fearful voice. It was fear. It wasn't anger- but panic and fear.

"That Kaname piece-of- shit. That's who." He sneered hatefully. "Son of a bitch was still holding that goddamned bat when I got to him. Got a couple punches in- knocked the wind outta him for a few seconds, then tried using the bat to swing at me. After it didn't work- he pulled a knife out and started to attack, but that's when Kai, that crazy bastard, came in. He had a fricken pole in his hands. I got slashed a few times, but before I could attack, he grabbed a hold of Kai's pole, pulled him in, threw him over the shoulder and didn't let go until the bone just popped right out. Hit his head against the side of a garbage bin and went out cold." He graphically explained what happened. "Pansie ran away after that." He scoffed. "The cops were around so the hospital was too risky."

"Okay, let's get you guys cleaned up." San announced. Without thinking, Taka reached out and grabbed San's arm while Kaya took Shinji into the bathrooms to clean up.

"San…Who is he to you?" He wanted her to finish her thought.

"Nothing. I'm sure it's a mistake." She then lifted Kai up and helped him to the bathroom. 'I'm sure I can be wrong. I only saw him for a second or two- I could be wrong. It might not even be him!' She staggered from Kai's full weight and his dragging feet. "C'mon Kai...hang in there." She encouraged softly as the blood from his head dripped on the carpet. He mumbled something under his breath, but his lips were too tired to move for him. Kai tried to catch the last words or so, but he slurred and muttered.

San got to the bathroom, set him on the floor, and began to clean his face up. As she ran the water and wrung the towel out, he started mumbling again. Not knowing what he wanted to say, she leaned in, and strained, but no luck. It was like trying to listen to one song while another song was playing over it on a radio. His words just couldn't form to reach her. She dabbed the blood off lightly as he kept trying to tell her what he wanted to say. Finally, after she managed to wrap his head, he found the strength to say it clear. San didn't know what to do after his words formed.

Ashitaka came in from his bedroom, and without even asking, helped San carry Kai. They carried him to his room, set him on the floor, and everyone gathered around as Shinji prepared to work his magic.

"Alight everyone, close your ears, and shut your mouth." Shinji then set Kai's arm flat on the ground, and targeted the protruding bone with the palms of his hand. San took Kai's other hand and squeezed. "1...2!" Shinji didn't even count to three before he forced all his weight down on the displaced bone. There was a 'pop' and then a slight cry of pain. San felt her hand being squeezed with twice the force she had put on. Shinji then took a flat stick and cloth to create a make-shift cast to hold the bone in place.

The food on the table was going cold, but no one seemed to care. Everyone was concentrated on the well-fair of Shinji and Kai. Kai and Shinji told everyone they were fine, but they all believed otherwise, especially San. She kept repeating the words he told her. Over, and over they echoed and nagged.

Hidden within the shadows of the ally way and dumpsters, he sat next to a blood-spattered trash bin. He studied the splatters and stains as he cracked his knuckles slowly, one by one. He didn't know what to do now. He couldn't approach her, that's what he was ordered to do. Now, he couldn't even think straight without any trace or knowledge of her. What was wrong with him? His luck? His life? He pulled his knees into his chest and buried his head within his arms. What to do?

He was walking carelessly through the streets that night. Wandering aimlessly, because that's what he did when he was trying to sort through his thoughts. He didn't want to go up to her like he wanted to in the past, but he had to find a way to get a little closer, even if it was just an inch. He spotted her brother, Kai, walking out of a convenience store with some other guys. Without thinking it all the way through, he approached the boy, and made him stop.

"Okina." He ordered in a superior tone. The boy stopped and turned around. His face stiffened, and his eyes strained to keep a consistent glare.

"What?" He replied, almost a command as opposed to a question. Hiro hesitated and looked around at his surroundings, as if searching for words to ask.

"San…Is she-…"

"She's none of your business. Leave me alone." Kai scoffed and started to walk away. Again, without thinking, his arm reached out and grabbed Kai's shoulder, and unconsciously held too tight. Kai struggled and in result, smacked him in the stomach with a fist to get free, like a dog biting a hand that was trying to put a collar around its neck. Hiro stumbled and let go, but tried to catch Kai, and ended up grabbing another kid, who tried hitting Hiro, but in defense, he hit first and sent the boy to the ground. Eventually, all the guys started to attack Hiro at once, but that's when unwanted reinforcements came out of nowhere and in time, it grew and grew. Hiro hid behind a wall, and hit the wall with his fist, angry at himself for screwing his opportunity up. Angry at Kai for making it such a big deal. Angry at the Okina's in general for keeping her away from him in the first place. Enraged that he couldn't even approach her in the slightest bit now that this would be heard of. By the time he walked out, he spotted Shinji and Taka approaching fast. Taka Okina, the other brother. Before he knew it, he was staggering away with a bat in his hands, blood on his fault, and all hope loss of ever seeing her again. As fate had it, he looked up, and finally saw her. She was running so fast, as if the wind carried her. She was worried about her brother. He looked down after she passed, and continued to walk away. He wanted to turn around and stop her, but he felt his hand around the bat, and kept walking.

A while later, Shinji attacked him with punches and sent him into a brick wall ofan ally. The walls were calling for help, but no one could hear them. Hiro swung at him, but Shinji managed to avoid the swing, and went in again for another round. He then threw the bat off elsewhere and took his knife out from his pocket. But when Kai, coming back for vengeance, swung with a pole, he had no choice but the disarm him, even if it meant dislocating it until he let go. He threw him to the side, and hit a garbage bin. After Shinji stopped for a second, Hiro took the opportunity to run.

'Is this what it takes? Are you satisfied yet?' He asked himself as he tried resting against a wall. 'How stupid are you? Are you really doing this? You're so selfish. How childish.' He fell asleep, and kept thinking what he could've done to prevent it.

_Kids filed out of the building and into the courtyard as Hiro leaned under a tree. He watched the girl named San as she walked home with her brothers. The boy named Shinji was taunting other kids nearby. He sat, and thought of what to do. He stood up, and walked over to the girl he had been studying._

_"San?" He asked as he wanted to make sure it was her. She turned to face him with big brown eyes and medium-long brown hair. "A-are you…" He wanted to ask her, just in case. Her brother's stepped in front of her in a protective shield. _

_"Hey, you! Don't get so close!" Kai sneered protectively. Hiro stepped back, a little startled. _

_"Look, I just wanted to…" _

_"What? What did you want to do?" Kai pressed. With all the pressuring and all the hostility, Hiro snapped, as he always did, and started to pummel Kai into the dirt. San tried to break it up, but Taka pushed her out of the way, and started to attack Hiro. Shinji started to run over to the scene, as he loved a fight, and even more so, a fight with a rival gang member. Hiro took a hold of Kai's arm, and punched so hard there was a crack. He then took his attention towards Taka, and kicked him in the leg. Shinji came from behind, and jammed his fist into the side of his chest. He replied by tried to kick Shinji, but aimed to low, and just managed to get Shinji off guard. He came back, and jammed another fist into the other side of Hiro's chest. _

_As the teachers rushed out, and held back all four boys, Hiro managed to yell what he wanted to say from the very beginning. _

_"You're not her family! Give her back!" _

San pressed her face into her bed and held onto the photo of her grandfather. She clenched her fists, and held the picture close to her chest. She then whispered to the photo, for her own secret.

"I'm so sorry." Before she left for Tokyo, Moro summoned her into her room.

"San, before you leave, I want you to know that there will be a relative of yours in the same area. I'm not sure if he knows you'll be there, but word will get out." Moro proceeded to fix her hair. San stood in the doorway, unsure of what to say.

"A relative? From the Okina family?" Moro hesitated before replying, but continued to pick at her hair, as if occupying herself to avoid something.

"No San, a blood relative to you." She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and stood up tall.

"Why didn't I know about him?" Moro shifted under her clothes and fixed her top. She adjusted the notch on her watch, and tugged at her earring.

"Because he's dangerous. No one knows what he might do. He has a restraining order, so you're safe as long as the police knows he's out there near you." She then popped the lipstick cap open and twisted the end.

"Dangerous? Around me? What are you talking about?" Moro couldn't reply, so instead, she set the tube of lipstick down before applying any, walked over to San, and kissed her forehead.

"Be careful." She patted her head and walked back to the mirror. San walked out, and left without saying good-bye.

Now she knew. She knew, and it was slowly killing her insides that she didn't do anything before. All she could do was apologize.

"I'm sorry….I'm sorry!" She whispered fiercely.

Taka sat next to Shinji and Kai as he thought back to the middle school days with the two. Kaya went out to get more bandages, and Ashitaka stood behind the slightly opened door. He waited, and walked away.

"Should we tell her?" Taka suggested. Shinji looked away, almost disgusted with the idea.

"I think…she already knows." Kai replied as he finally unburied the words that were meant to be heard by San in the first place.

"She needs to know the whole story." Taka decided. "She deserves to know, doesn't she?" He stood up and tried navigating around objects. "I mean, if I was her, I'd want to know too."

"But Mom…" Kai reminded.

"Mom won't care after what happened. We'll tell her later. We need to set things straight with San first."

Ashitaka turned around, and walked back to his room.

On the streets, Hiro got up on his feet, and started to walk towards her. Inch by inch, slowly, and closer.

A/n: Smiles :)It might seem like not enough AshitakaXSan fluff, but I like drama's and now that I have a decent plot, I kinda wanna see what happens next! Right now, I'm just letting my fingers flow. So, don't ask what might happen, cause I don't even know. Boo hoo. But Their relationship is slowly blooming, have no fear for all of you starving for fluff. It's coming. Patience.


	10. closer

I do not own Princess Mononoke

Chapter 10 – Closer

a/n – If you're wondering ,"why the heck isn't Kaya even mentioned?" It's because I haven't developed her as a full-fledged character enough to bring her to life in this chapter. (And I never really saw her as a real character in the first place- she's actually bigger in my story than I had originally planned for her to be…)

I had thought about it. That night, when she came in and slept next to me, I somehow felt comforted. I suppose being around her all the time just made me feel like it was normal. I got a call in the middle of the night, when she was still sleeping, it was my mother. She said it was over. They agreed on partnership and no one would overrule anyone. The only thing they had to come to terms with was the name and set up conferences with the press. I should've seen this coming long ago. Why did I refuse to believe that this wouldn't last longer? I guess it was just me and my childish thinking. She may behave like one at times, but I truly am one. I really am selfish for wanting her for myself, even when I know she has other's she cares about. What am I doing? My manager wants me back in the stadium to rehearse, but I don't want to leave. I overheard her. If that guy is really who she thinks he is, then I might get even more selfish. Jealousy, if you want to call it such. Sometimes I'll stare at her, and wonder , "Is it okay if I'm here with you?"

I doubt it every time I see her cry.

-Ashitaka

I try to forget that day when something hit me in the chest so hard I almost collapsed on the inside. I couldn't think straight then; I can't think straight now. It was hard finding out that she wasn't really one of us. I know Taka didn't take it lightly either, I could feel it. He was hurting too. When I asked mom about it, she always avoided the straight truth. Now that I think about it, she must've been hurting too. After that day, I wondered, "Why couldn't mom just adopt both of them?" That seemed to make more sense. When I asked Taka about what he thought about it, he couldn't find an answer. She is a part of us, no matter what DNA or shit like that proves. We grew up together. If we're not family, we're at least best friends. She is my best friend. She is my sister. I don't care what Hiro believes or doesn't believe, he can't take her away. He almost took my brother away, but I won't let him touch my sister. I didn't then, I won't now. Not ever.

I'll kill him if he does.

- Kai

I can touch. I can smell. I can taste. I can hear. I can read, but not with my eyes. I read the world with my other senses. People are just books that few can truly appreciate. There's just one book I can't seem to unlock. Hiro's book. He's cold and stiff. Pages are immovable and the cover is made of stone. That day, when I thought I felt his presence pass me in the streets with a malicious grin, I think back and realize; it wasn't malicious, nor was it a grin. It felt indifferent. It felt like sorrow. Earlier, I kept thinking, "maybe he was just sad he couldn't finish me off…" but, a little part of me says otherwise. I want to believe what I believed in the first place, but with my 'eyes', I read something so different. Who is this person? Why does he have to be connected to San?

Why…is he so difficult to read?

-Taka

I thought that it was a mistake. I truly hoped I would be wrong. I believed it would change. I prayed he wasn't the one. Why…Why does the picture I have in my hands look exactly like him? I don't get it. I don't see it. No, it's not that I don't see it; I don't want to see it. Hiro, why did you do this? Why did you do any of this? I can't call you anything else but Hiro Kaname, for that's all you are to me right now. My brothers are Taka and Kai. My kin is with the Okina's, not the Kaname's. I won't be here forever, in fact, my time for staying in this city is short. I probably won't see you again. Should we meet again, I'll be afraid of looking into your eyes. The eyes I'm so used to seeing laughter in, not pain. I want to be close to those I care about, not to those who intend to hurt others. So that's why I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

Live well. And Smile.

-San

I feel like I haven't achieved anything worth recognizing within my life yet. I've been unsuccessful as a son, and as a leader. Most importantly, I've failed as a brother. Some part of me is trying to hold me back, as if something very wrong will happen should I knock on that door. However, the majority of my conscious tells me to go. I trust myself, if I don't trust myself, no one will. I'm breaking the law, but the law can't hold me back now; not when I tried to kill him. Not when I'm so close. That damn woman's afraid of me. She moved just so I couldn't even see San at a distance. If she doesn't pay, someone will.

Eventually, and steadily. I will see San.

Hiro

Disgusting. Revolting. I can't seem to emphasize how much resentment I have right now. Hate can spawn from anywhere, and once it starts, it's hard to stop. Why do I hate that guy so much? It's a matter of mutual feelings. He's making a freakin' fool outta me. Starts a fight in the clear streets, blinds my best friend, injures my other, and on top of that, he chooses to hide and sulk somewhere in the shadows. No pride, no class, no reason to like him in anyway. Bastard thinks he's a flippin' king or something. Talking with Taka and Kai, I have a feeling something's going to go down between him and San. No, if he really cares about her, it'll be Ashitaka who protects her. I can't butt in. She wouldn't like that. Hell, I don't think anyone would. I can just pray that Ashitaka can stand up for himself in a fight.

Pray that his ass won't get kicked or I'll be forced to jump in.

Shinji

Last day of arguing. Last day of three cups of black coffee at six am and three more at eleven pm. It's been a long, hard road, but we've finally reached a temporary end. At least, until construction continues. Eboshi agreed to share the iron as long as I shared the oil and trade. It was, 'a way to help the people' as Gonza put it. I thought I'd never hear him say something so humane. Besides the fact, I'm going to have to bring San home soon. I've had little contact with my family since they moved. I hope they're well. I know they're well, they're my children; I raised them to be strong. To be strong, and to protect. I heard about Ashitaka's sudden leave from him concert rehearsals, I don't know the details, no one does. Not even Eboshi. No one has had any contact with those kids. They've been isolated. I hope it doesn't have to do anything with her true brother. That boy is a troubled one. I had to get my own children away from him when he attacked them in middle school. I feel as if it is my fault that he attacked them. Karma, if you will. I didn't know San had a brother when I adopted her. No one told me, so how could I have known? But I left that baby boy behind as I swept his sister away. No parents, no siblings, nobody. He must've been so lonely all these years. But that's why he's dangerous. That's why…I need to protect my children.

-Moro

A/n: Yes it's a short chapter, but it's pretty important to me. Only took about 3 days to plan and type everything. Hiro (who was supposed to be the evil twin or something originally) is highly misunderstood by the other characters, especially Shinji. I really like Hiro, even if he may seem a bit...unrealistic? I can't find the word yet. He's interesting to follow. Shinji is a pretty straight-forward and simple character, static if you will. He has a one-track mind, as opposed to characters like San, Ashitaka, Kai and Taka. Ashitaka sinks deeper than you think- I just haven't created the opportunity to show it yet.


	11. Kites in the Sky

I do not own princess mononoke

Chapter 11 – Kites in the Sky

a/n: had to listen to a crap load of different songs to really feel what everyone must've been feeling. Love, goth, punk, whatever I could get my hands on. I wrote like crazy as the songs played, I tell you. It helps, really

"'Give her back', huh?"

"Yeah."

Everything was so silent for a few minutes as if time had stopped for her to reply to the events that had just been described to her. Like a movie in rewind, or a mental time machine. Recalling events that never seemed to occur to her. Time resumed as she sighed heavily, sinking deeper into her state of silent confession. She looked up at the three boys looking back at her. Taka, staring at her soul, Kai, staring at her heart, and Shinji, staring at her thoughts, She didn't know what else to do now. Where was Ashitaka? Did he go outside with Kaya? Is he on the balcony? Where is he? She stood up, with the 3 sets of eyes following her. She was about to turn the corner, but stopped as she came face to face with the very person she was just thinking about.

They didn't say anything for a while; they just stared at each other. Ashitaka, staring with concern, and San, staring with fatigue and relief. If she was feeling better, she would've given in by now, but she didn't, it wasn't strength that kept her silent, it was guilt. He took her by the hand, and walked through the sitting crowd and out the balcony door. He shut the door behind him, and hesitated before turning around. She turned around towards the city. The city was an unforgiving place. What a miserable and overpowering place it was. All its done was give her grief and anger from the start. But then again, was it all that bad to come anyways?

"San" His voice finally broke the silence. Oh, how comforting his voice was to her. Like a gentle wave of heat breaking rock-hard ice, his voice soothed her pain, just for a second. She turned around slowly, and gazed into his eyes without fear, or hate. She understood now why his black orbs always made her shiver and turn. Why they always seemed to grasp her whole body and soul with such might she almost couldn't handle it.

His arms blanketed around her, just like a wave of soothing heat he embraced her. She went limp, and felt like even if she turned into water, he would find a way to keep her in one piece and bring her back.

"San" He repeated and he squeezed gently. "Go" She looked to the side, only to see his hair and neck. "Go ahead, no one can hear you." She closed her eyes, inhaled, and tried to tell him that she wouldn't cry. Not here, not now. But as she exhaled, a violent knot forced its way up her throat, and the once melancholy eyes turned to the source of a river. She just stood there; just like a little kid. Not wiping her eyes, not wiping her nose, just stood there like a child in the arms of a parent. But, she was really standing there weeping, in the arms of a loved one. Why was it so easy to just cry? Right when he said to? Moro almost never held her like this. She gave love and care, yes, but a lasting embrace such as this was something new. It made her bones rattle with joy, her body tingle with delight, and her heart pound wildly. Slowly and cautiously, she lifted her heavy arms, and wrapped them as much as she could around his body and squeezed tightly, afraid he might leave right there. He held tightly, and let her stay in his arms, even though it was going to be the last time he could hold her.

He approached the street where his destination was in sight. He felt something in his gut turnover and over. Someone was standing in the doorway, perfect. He could just bash his way through now. He inched closer and closer, but as he reached a point where he could clearly see who was standing in his way, he stopped.

There was a deathly silent moment as the two stared at each other with different emotions. He couldn't understand why she was there right now; it was too early. She stared at him with a glare of determination. He was confused at what to do now. Up until this moment, he didn't know what he was going to do once he did get to see San for the first time since he was very little. She kept standing there, still as a statue, and as faceless as a Noh mask. He inched a little closer as the seconds passed, but still didn't know what else to do but advance.

"San…?" He swallowed hard as he was still unsure of himself. "If you're mad at me, I understand, but I want to know if you want to come with me." She didn't reply, nor did she move. "I mean, come back. We're family, and we should be together. I don't mean that in a weird way, but I do care about you, and that's why I want you to come back." He finally made it. He was so close now. It was as if he could just take her away right now. "San…" But he was cut off as soon as she hugged him. She dug her face into his shoulder as she squeezed.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was so soft, but it was as if her words stabbed him in the shoulder. "You live in the past, Hiro, but let me tell you, try joining me in the present. Now that I know you're here, I'm a little more comfortable" She didn't wait for him to say anything, she simply kept talking softly. "I'm happy" He felt that gut twist like a wet towel being wrung out to dry. "I'm happy you're alive, but I'm happy where I am. I want to stay with the family I've known." She carefully slipped a picture into his jacket pocket, and let go. "Let go, Hiro Kaname. You may know me as a sister, but starting right now, I am a friend. My name is San Okina, 17, high school student. I live in this building, with my two brothers, Ashitaka and Kaya Eboshi." He stood flustered, and uncertain of himself as he clenched his fists. "It's late right now, I should go. I hope to see you in the near future. Goodnight." She turned and walked away.

Ashitaka hid in the shadows as he smiled to himself, and at the courage San had built. He took one last glance at Hiro Kaname, and crept his way in after San.

As he lay in his bed, he stared blankly at the ceiling, thinking about San. He knew that this brief amount of happiness wouldn't go on for much longer. It was coming to an end. It was finally almost over. He heard a knock on the door, and sat up. Something told him it was San.

"Ashitaka?" She opened it slowly. He smiled in the dark, and scooted over. She crawled in and curled up next to him. "That wasn't easy." She said as they both lay still.

"I can only imagine." He replied as he continued to wish it would last just a little longer.

"What now? What do you think Shinji, Kai and Taka will do? What will Hiro do?" She was constantly worrying about others, with no regards to herself.

"Kites." Ashitaka replied. She nudged in confusion. "Kites in the sky." He wrapped his arm around her. "We're both kites, San. Can't you see? We're always going to be attached to someone more powerful than us. They hold on to us so we won't get lost, or get tangled up. They control us at will." She didn't know where this was going, but she kept quiet so that he could go on. "We're not going to be as free as we are now. Our paths are carved out in stone now. We're going to go our separate ways." She tried getting closer, pretending not to understand. "The deal is over with our parents. We both have to go back to where we came from." Something about the way he said it made her crumble under the covers and made her body go cold. She had forgotten what life was like without knowing he was right down the hall. She tried to remember her mother trying to wake her up every morning for school, trying to get her two brothers up for school, and continuing on life without ever knowing Ashitaka.

"Don't go." She quietly pleaded as he still faced the ceiling. He then turned his head slowly and waited for her to face him herself. He gazed until she felt the weight of his eyes. It was like a last look before departure. He didn't know what to reply to her plea. He knew that he couldn't do that. Not when he had work. Although, in the end, was his work really making him happy? It seemed that only she could. She could be with him, and he could relax without regret. She could smile, and he could smile back. He wanted to love her. He wanted her to love him back, but not even that could sever the string which bound them to their families.

He cradled her head and touched her forehead with his lips, and held for a second. He realized that she was already asleep. He kept his arm around her, trying not to realize he couldn't ever hold her again.

"It really is hopeless, isn't it?" He took his free hand, Covered his face as best he could, and for the first time, he prayed that someone would hear him. Anyone, just someone might hear him, and feel sorry. He knew he didn't need sympathy when he needed her.

Just when he entered a state of half-sleep, someone forced the door open. He shot up, and before he could investigate, he could hear Kai struggling with someone.

'Get away from me! Get off! Don't touch me!" he and Taka raged. Kaya was screaming in panic from the other room, while San tried to see what was going on too. Ashitaka tried getting out the door, but before he even got out of the bed, a man kicked the door open and stomped over to the bed.

"Hey! What are you…?" San started to object to the stranger, but he grabbed her and started to drag her away. Ashitaka immediately tried to fight the man off, but from nowhere, another man fought with him instead. He tried fending him off while still trying to get San back. She screamed and kicked but the man overpowered her. He dragged her out of the room while taka and Kai were still wildly fighting back.

"SAN!" Ashitaka yelled as the struggle continued.

"ASHITAKA!" She screamed back, and then she was gone. Just like that. Under 10 minutes she disappeared. Not knowing where she was going, or if she was coming back. He did the only thing he could do, and that was call his mother.

"What's going on here?" He tried remaining calm with his mother. He was angry at those men, not at her.

"What are you talking about?" Eboshi asked tiredly. She had finally reached a good night's sleep, and then the phone rang.

"A bunch of weird guys came in and dragged the Okina's out." He explained quick and dirty.

"What? That was Moro's doing. She knew about how dangerous that Hiro Kaname was. She probably wanted to get them out before it got too dangerous." Eboshi tried to see what time it was

"That can't be possible!" He was starting to lose it already. He was so on-edge he could've snapped at anyone at this point.

"Look Ashitaka, if you want to do something, I strongly advise against it. This is their mother's idea, not mine, nor anyone else. Try to remember that." She then hung up and fell asleep soon after. Ashitaka, on the other line, slammed the phone down and ran into Kaya's room.

"Ashitaka!" she struggled. She was shaking, still trying to recover from what just happened. Her eyes were still watery, and still trying to figure out what had just happened. "I…they….it was so…." She tried forming sentences, but none would.

"It's alright, Kaya, I'm going out right now to find out what's going on and where they are." He comforted her like a good brother would. He started to walk away, but she grabbed his shirt.

"T-Take me with you!" She wanted to feel strong too. She wanted to save someone she loved too. Ashitaka saw it in her eyes that she had the strength and will to come. He helped her off the bed and onto her feet.

As they ran off, he wandered why Moro would go to such measures to take them away. Why was it necessary? Hiro wasn't that dangerous, especially to San, so why the urgency? Then again, Moro nor Eboshi was ever informed about the events that had happened while away, so how would they know?

As he thought, a hand pushed him back with forceful strength. He coughed from the pressure that had suddenly been replied, and regained his normal breathing after the wind was knocked out of him.

"San's in trouble, isn't she?"

to be continued!

a/n: hmm… I don't feel like I'm staying true to the original characters. Perhaps I should change that for those of you who feel strongly about characters. Especially if I butchered any of the characters. Sorry. I write for myself, and for my readers, so tell me what you think.

a/n this was an early rough draft for chapter 11, as you can see, I didn't have anywhere to put it in the final. But I liked it so damn much I wanted to share it with you guys. I forgot who this narrative was supposed to be in, but whoever it was they were referring to kites (metaphorically).

_I hate you. I pity you. I want to strangle you. I have to hold on to you. I ignored you. I tried to find you. What is it about you? I don't know you, but I feel attached to you. By this thread I can't see, nor touch. It's just a string. It's just a tiny string. So fragile, yet so stubborn. If given the chance, will I be able to cut it? _


	12. Holding

I do not own Princess Mononoke

a/n: okay, I'll try to make this good to make up for the last chapter -- sorry. It may be a little too cliché for some readers, but I'm trying my best! BTW 'holding' was supposed to be the title of chapter 11, but then I got inspiration and changed it. Therefore, the name moved to chapter 12.

Chapter 12 – Holding

The smell of a lingering perfume filled the air as she woke up to a dim-lighted area that was all-too familiar, yet so strange. She was home, back in the room she grew up in, back in the house she lived in for so long. Her clock, read 2:04 AM, and although sleepy, she couldn't go back to sleep. What happened? Why was she back home? Oh, yeah…that's right. That's what happened.

She crawled out of the bed, trying to lift her heavy body. Her eyes tried adjusting to the dark as she bumped into the foot of her bed trying to get to the door. She waved her hand around in the dark, searching for the doorknob. The whole house was quiet, as she tried to get to their room. She ran into a wall. This wasn't the apartment, it's a house, the halls are longer. She turned in, and realized she was in the guest room. Other way, this isn't the apartment, this is a house. She turned around and finally made it to their room. She opened the door, and noticed they were already awake.

"San!" Kai whispered fiercely in the dark. She tried to focus, but everything was the same, eyes closed or open. "Did that stuff wear off yet?" Stuff? What 'stuff'? Oh, right, the stuff that made her pass out.

"No. Not really." She tried shaking it off, but whatever it was; it made her drowsy as hell.

"At least they didn't have to tie you up in the car." He scoffed. They tried to use the same stuff on the boys, but stubborn as they are, it didn't exactly work. "We had to pretend to sleep to get them to leave the door."

"Why are we here?" She felt a void starting to fill inside. Even though she was home, it didn't feel like it.

"Mom's deal is done. They've merged, so we had no business staying there with the Eboshi's." Kai finally spoke.

"So they had to forcefully take us?" San muttered angrily. They didn't have to go to such lengths.

"That's only part of it. We learned that she found out about Hiro too. She thought he was going to attack us, and when she found out that Taka was blinded by him, she felt she had no choice but to take us away from there as quickly as possible." Kai spat just as angrily.

"They're getting our stuff later. Chances are, the Eboshi's will move out by tomorrow too." All three were silent. They knew they were going to miss that apartment, and living together. But then again, they also knew that they had to leave some time. It was never meant to be permanent.

'I wonder what he's doing right now.' San thought as she sat in the middle of their room.

Ashitaka regained his stamina, and looked up at who had forced him backwards. He looked up, and nodded. Hiro was making his way towards a local bar, trying to drown himself in alcohol when he spotted a car driving by, and noticed Kai trying to free himself from someone's hold. He tried to follow it down the road, hoping it'll turn into some street he was familiar with, but it just kept driving down. He then ran to the only place where he might find decent answers.

"They're probably being taken home." Ashitaka hypothesized as they both ran as fast as they could down the road Hiro saw the car.

"We're too slow on foot, this way." He turned a corner, and another until he stopped in an ally way and dug through some garbage piles. He pushed a seemingly new motorcycle out and climbed on. Ashitaka then climbed in behind him, and they sped off.

When they arrived near the gate, Hiro hid the bike in the bushes, and tried to find a way in. Before Ashitaka could follow, he stopped himself. What was he thinking? Those people took them because they were to return home. He should do the same. The deal is off now. Its over. They don't live together anymore. Why was he here in the first place? It's not like they were being taken away by some evil monster. Get real.

"Hey. You coming?" Hiro found a tree he could climb to get over the walls. Ashitaka stood up, and walked towards the front gate. Hiro was taken aback as he was walking right towards the front gate. He rang the doorbell, and waited for a reply.

"Who's there?" A voice asked in a commanding manner.

"Ashitaka Eboshi. I'm here to see Ms. Okina." He politely replied.

"The mistress is asleep, come again later in the day."

"It's quite urgent." He replied calmly.

"It can wait." Ashitaka sighed and walked away. After about 15 meters away, he turned, and ran until he got enough speed to jump the fence and get over. He landed on the other side, and walked up to the front door. He knocked on the door until someone opened it for him.

"I thought I told you to come back later." The man shot coldly.

"It's very urgent." Ashitaka pushed his way through, only to have a handgun pressed against his head.

"Come back later." He warned.

"Now, who's causing some much ruckus in my house?" Moro asked, although sleepy, awake enough to speak in her usual, commanding voice.

"Ms.Okina. can you explain why such dramatic actions were taken to get them back? Couldn'tyou wait till morning to get them home?" He was boiling inside, but he kept calm for the sake of staying sane.

"Ashitaka, the actions I took were to secure the safety of my children, I'm surprised Eboshi didn't do the same." She could see pass his mask, she knew he was angry.

"She wouldn't unless she had a very good reason." He quietly gritted his teeth. The man still had his gun pressed to his head, and it only agitated him more.

"I assure you, Ashitaka, my reasons were good enough to get them out of that place as swiftly as possible. Unfortunately, my reasons have nothing to do with you, or your sister." Ashitaka clenched his fists, but knew he had no authority in her house. The door flew open, and Hiro finally made his appearance, after debating whether or not he should go after Ashitaka, or try to climb the tree. He was armed with a pocket knife, and pressed it against the man's neck.

"You damn woman. I didn't know you'd go this far." He angrily growled at her.

"You're a dangerous boy, Hiro. If its anyone to blame, blame yourself. I did what I could to protect them."

"That's one twisted way of protection."

"It was necessary."

"It was bullshit."

"What are you going to do, boy? Kill my guard because you can't kill me? That's so pathetic." She knew all the right buttons to push. "I did it because you were a threat to the safety of San, and you proved yourself by blinding my son." She started to get agitated herself. "You're not wanted here. Leave now." She started to turn, when Hiro directed the aim of his knife towards her. Ashitaka, saw this, and moved, trying to stop him. Caught up in the adrenaline, the guard directed his gun towards Hiro. Ashitaka grabbed Hiro's arm, and struggled with the knife, but still believing Hiro was a direct threat, he pulled the trigger.

San, Kai, and Taka shot up from their half-sleep dazes and rushed out the door. It was still dark, so none of them could clearly see who was on the ground, but he wasn't moving. A small pool of blood started to form around the body as the guard who fired was still in the moment, with his gun smoking, and still in a shooting stance. Another figure was trying to wake the body up.

"Hiro!" His voice shouted throughout the once-silent house. San ran down the stairs, not believing what she was seeing.

"Ashitaka?" She exclaimed. He looked up for a brief moment, though relived to see her alright, panicked about Hiro's gunshot wound.

"San! Call 911!" San reacted almost immediately, and ran to the nearest phone, and dialed.

Ashitaka tried to apply pressure to his gun shot wound. It was on the side of his torso, and another wound on the exact opposite side. He was bleeding on two opposite sides. Taka and Kai made their way down, too, so Ashitaka ordered Kai to hold the wound with his hand. Although hesitant, he obeyed while Ashitaka held the other side.

"Kai, move." Taka finally made it to the small group. Ashitaka and Kai were shocked that Kai wanted to help him. He blinded him, so why should he help him? Hiro managed to regain consciousness after his state of shock.

"You…" He struggled to say. He was in pain, a lot of pain. "Why are you…"

"Shut up." Kai replied as he kept pressing. "Call it fair trade. Consider yourself lucky you got shot instead of hit with a bat."

"...I'm sorry..." Hiro apologized as the blood kept coming out. With a few minutes, Ashitaka's hands were drenched, and Taka's hands were getting soaked too.

The ambulance arrived, and drove off to the hospital. Ashitaka took the bike and rode after the ambulance with San holding on behind him. She held on tightly, not afraid she might fall off, but afraid she might not see him again.

'Ashitaka…did you come for me? Have I become that pathetic? I'm such and idiot.' She rested her head on his back, and although almost 3am in the morning, couldn't feel anything but his warmth. His body, his scent, his presence.

"Ashitaka, I love you." She said in a normal voice, but he couldn't hear her over the motorcycle raging over the asphalt road.

He could feel her wrapping her arms around his body, tightly, lovingly, and comfortably. He smiled, knowing that she was right there with him. He really thought yesterday was the last day he could be like this with her. So knowing that she was sitting right behind him was the greatest gift he had ever known. She was warm, and she was so close, he could swear he could feel her heart beating. Her head was resting on his back, and her body was close. He could feel her breathing steadily as they rode.

"I really love you." He said as he drove off faster.

They made it to the hospital, and Hiro was already in the ER. Taka and Kai were on their way, but until then, San and Ashitaka tried to find out where they could find him. He was in there for 2 hours until they finally wheeled him out. The doctors told them the bullet went straight through, so all they had to do was patch him up and make sure nothing vital was hit, which fortunately wasn't.

The two sat in the room while Hiro slept soundly.

"Ashitaka?" San called his attention quietly. He turned his head in response. "Why did you come to my house tonight?" She already knew the answer, but then again, she had to make sure.

"Truthfully, I came to find out why Moro had to do that to you three. But inside, I came for you." He admitted as he turned his attention to Hiro. "I met up with him while I was trying to catch up with the car. I was too slow, so we both went on is motorcycle. When we arrived, things got out of hand. He tried to throw a knife at Moro, but I stopped him, and the guard shot him on accident." He roughly explained what had happened, even though she never really asked for an explanation.

"I see…" She looked at the floor, and realized she was barefoot the whole time. Her feet started to feel the beatings of running around without shoes. She wanted to ask him if he liked her. But that wouldn't seem like her to ask something like that, so she stayed quiet. 'Maybe…' She thought to herself. 'Maybe its better that we both stay apart, despite what we might feel about each other.' She was afraid of what he would say. What if he only thought of her as a sister relationship? She didn't want to get hurt. He meant so much to her, yet she couldn't say anything to him.

The moon sank as Japan waited for the sun's arrival. Ashitaka got a call again. His manager was threatening him if he didn't come back to rehearse. The concert was in less than 3 weeks. He had to practice like no other before him. Kaya went back home herself, after Ashitaka told her everything was alright.

San woke up to the sunlight, with Kai and Taka sleeping on the other side of the room. She had a blanket around her, and an envelope in the chair next to hers. It was concert tickets. It also had a small note inside. It read:

_'Sorry' _

She slid the note and tickets back into the envelope and held onto it. The three boys were still sleeping as she slowly woke up.

**Three weeks later…**

Ashitaka warmed up backstage as he went through dance moves, and mumbled song lyrics to himself. His backup dancers were already preparing to get on stage.

"Ashitaka!" Kaya called out. "Good luck!" She hugged him cheerfully. He nodded, and checked the time. Ten more minutes till show time. He practiced a little more until his manager told him to get ready to get on stage.

When the lights started to move and smoke fogged the stage, he got up front and center. As rehearsed, he started dancing and started his song as his fans cheered wildly. He continued until after the 4th song was over. He then drank some water to catch his breath, and held the microphone up. After thanking everybody for coming, and so forth, he began to talk about his next song.

"I want to tell you all, about what the next song is about." He looked around the huge stadium, trying to find her. "I named it 'Kites' because they remind me of someone who is very special to me. This person, is someone I can be with, and be myself with." He kept searching, and searching, hoping his voice will reach her. "This person is a girl I love very much." He gave up trying to look for her one face in the sea of thousands. The lights went dim, and he began his song.

_"Would you still hold me even if it caused you distress? _

_Would you still kiss me even if it was painful? _

_Would you still love me even if it was scorn upon? _

_Like a kite in the sky, you fly out of my reach _

_Like a kite in the sky, you fly so far above me _

_I really love you, but do you love me? _

_I really like you, but do you? _

_Would you hold my hand even if it was cold? _

_Would you walk with me even if you were tired? _

_Would you really be with me? _

_Like a kite in the sky, you fly out of my reach_

_But I'd still try to catch you anyways…" _

He repeated the chorus a couple more times, and ended the song through the screaming fans, "I love you."

After the concert, he greeted some of the fans that had backstage passes, but still searched for her. As he signed an autograph, someone was trying to get pass security.

"Get away! I'm trying to get through!"

"Miss, you don't have a pass, you can't go backstage."

"You tryin' to pick a fight?" A boy warned.

"I think he is." Another chimed in. "Hold him down, Kai!" Ashitaka ran through the crowd, and he almost died happy.

"Ashitaka!" She exclaimed as she jumped over the dog-pile of her two brothers and security guards. They ran towards each other, and by the time they reached, Ashitaka lifted her up and spun a little. As they embraced, she even laughed a little.

"Where were you?" He asked.

"I had to practically beg my mom to drive me here. And traffic was so heavy I had to run 2 miles just to get to the stadium." She was set down on the ground. "I was a little late, but I made it in time for your 5th song." She smiled uncontrollably.

"Did you?" He replied with a big smile. "So you heard…" But she didn't let him finish. She had already moved in and occupied his mouth so he couldn't talk anymore. She still had her arms around him, and his around her.

Fans in the backstage both cheered, and sulked. Taka and Kai were still fighting to get free. A TV crew started filming them immediately as it was to be aired the next morning on the news.

And the next morning, it was aired almost immediately. The whole country witnessed the two going at it for almost forever. It was front page news, so it was no surprise Moro and Eboshi caught wind of it. Even Hiro and Shinji found out as the rest of the country did.

When they did stop, they both kept grinning.

"I do love you." She replied to his song.

After the news of the kiss settled down, the Eboshi kids moved back into the apartment with the Okina kids. They all attended the same school, and all lived under the same roof.

**Shinji resigned from his gang leadership responsibilities and started working at his family-owned phone shop**. Hiro decided to move on and focus on his studies so he could go to America to study instead. Kaya and Taka started dating, while the two brothers both left the gang after Shinji left. Moro and Eboshi still had a shaky relationship, but managed to rule the economy as strong business queens.

"So…" San asked as she walked home beside Ashitaka.

"So…?" He replied

"What do you think of us now?" She referred to his comparison to kites. He looked up at the sky, and thought for a moment.

"A couple." He joked. She punched his arm to get serious. "What? That's the truth." He rubbed his arm.

"I think we're birds." She spotted two birds flying together in the sky.

"No. We're still kites." He noticed the birds as well. "Still attached to someone else, still flying, but not free. But we're two entangled kites." He replied more seriously.

"Not that I mind." She joked with him.

"Yeah, me neither." He answered with a chuckle.

FIN

**Shinji's family owns a phone-shop, that's how he knew about Ashitaka and San. If you refer to the earlier chapters, Ashitaka had to go to the store to pick up her new cell phone. It was Shinji that was at the shop that day, and gave him the phone. That's how he really found out in chapter 7 when he was telling Taka about giving up on San. I wanted to weave that** **in the story, but I had nowhere to put it. I'm just telling you know for all of you who were wondering how the heck he knew.**

a/n : yes, the last chapter! This is a sad/happy moment, isn't it? Smiles. The ending kinda sucked, and I wanted to end it after she kissed him, but I wanted to tell you about the other characters and how they turned out too. Then again, they didn't really matter, but hey, I'd be curious to know too. At first, I kinda wanted to kill off Hiro, but that wouldn't be fair to Taka, even though a part of him wanted Hiro to die. Self-conscience (and my love for hiro) got the better of him. I also wanted to fast-forward to the future so they could get married, but I decided not to. Oh well. I wanted Shinji to be the one where he pushes Ashitaka back in the last chapter, but I decided Hiro would be better. Shinji kinda died off, didn't he? Sorry. Um….please keep reading my works? LoL. Oh, sorry about Ashitaka's song, my poetry was never adequate to my taste, so sorry if sounded cheesy….Okay, I'm done with my last, and by far longest A/N. BYE FOR NOW! Thanks for reading, again.

-Kazuhiro


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